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- !R MEM: 



"The Little Man 
from Chicago" 



The life Story of 
Wilbur F. Meminger 



BY HIS WIFE. 



Alliance Press Company 
692 eighth avenue 

NEW YORK 

cNVvc 






COPYRIGHTED, I9IO 
BY A. B. SIMPSON 



©CLA268S 



CONTENTS. 

Preface . . ., 9 

Introduction 11 

Chapter I. 
His Boyhood . ., 17 

Chapter II. 
His Conversion , 32 

Chapter III. 
His Business Career 40 

Chapter IV. 
A Class Leader.* 44 

Chapter V. 
Evangelistic Work in the Methodist 

Church 55 

Chapter VI. 
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit 61 

Chapter VII. 
I Believe in the Fourfold Gospel 67 



Chapter VIII. 
God Heals 74 

Chapter IX. 
Inspired Petitions 85 

Chapter X. 
The Lord's Coming 99 

Chapter XL 
Missions 107 

Chapter XII. 
Chicago Work 113 

Chapter XIII. 
Field Work 120 

Chapter XIV. 
Field Work (Continued) 132 

Chapter XV. 
Called Home 148 

Chapter XVI. 
Funeral Services 158 

Chapter XVII. 
Tributes 174 



PREFACE. 

The following memoir we believe needs no 
introduction, but, like its subject, is able to 
speak for itself. It has been said of the great- 
est modern biography, Boswell's life of John- 
son, that its charm consists in the fact that he 
did not attempt to say anything, but simply let 
the hero do all the speaking himself. The 
writer of the following memoir is glad to be 
able to hide behind an array of facts that need 
comparatively little editing. The only thing, 
perhaps, that needs explanation is the singular 
title. To those who knew Wilbur Meminger 
no such explanation is necessary, for the 
phrase was so often on his lips that it seemed 
to fit the man as nothing else could. 

The origin of the expression is connected 
with the introduction to his great work in Chi- 
cago as superintendent of the Christian and 
Missionary Alliance. Suddenly introduced in 
a great convention as their superintendent, he 
so deeply realized the vastness of the respon- 
sibility and his own insufficiency, that for a 
little he sank under the weight of the burden 
and asked to be excused from even speaking 
until he had a little time to recover his breath. 



io " The Little Man from Chicago " 

Then the intense realization of the greatness of 
the work and the smallness of the man took 
such possession of him that ever afterwards he 
described himself as "the little man from Chi- 
cago." It was not an affectation or a phrase 
with him; but a genuine spirit of self-abase- 
ment like that of the great apostle whom he 
loved so closely to follow, and he took the 
name of "Paul the Little" because he really 
felt that He had not only been "the chief of 
sinners," but that he was "less than the least 
of all saints." 

But we are quite sure that after our read- 
ers have finished his life story they will have 
a new revelation of the Master's words "The 
last shall be first; he that will be chief among 
you let him be the servant of all." In a very 
real and unique way Wilbur Meminger was 
truly a great life and his passing has left a 
lasting void. 

A. B. Simpson. 



INTRODUCTION. 

"Blessed are the dead which die in the 
Lord, from henceforth! Yea, saith the 
Spirit: That they may rest from their la- 
bors; and their works do follow them" (Rev. 
xiv. 13). 

This seems to be the only instance where 
the word "die" is used of saints in the New 
Testament, after the resurrection of our 
Lord. He "abolished death and brought life 
and immortality to light," and "from hence- 
forth" we have such expressions as Stephen 
"fell asleep"; Paul, "absent from the body, 
present with the Lord." Peter, "put off this 
tabernacle." 

Not only so, but those who "live Christ" and 
"die in the Lord," "rest from their labors; 
but their works follow them." The labors — 
"trying toils" — cease, but the works — fruitful 
activities — continue after one has passed on 
"to be with Christ." 

When Wilbur Fisk Meminger died in the 
Lord, as in Him he lived, his active life and 
devoted service did not cease — his works do 
follow. The Lord of the harvest still delights 
to use him as one of His "harvest hands," 



12 " The Little Man from Chicago n 

as he often was wont to say, "to cut a swath 
in His harvest field." And could we see it 
as God sees, we might find that the work 
and witness of our beloved brother and fel- 
low-laborer are more extensive and fruitful 
than when he wrought in his earthly taber- 
nacle. 

The compilation and circulation of this 
memoir, by his wife, is for the glory of God, 
in multiplying and perpetuating the testi- 
mony and triumph of our brother's beauti- 
ful career of godliness and usefulness. Dur- 
ing most of the time covered by his service 
in connection with the Christian and Mis- 
sionary Alliance, Mrs. Meminger accom- 
panied her husband in his campaigns of con- 
ventions in various parts of the United 
States and Canada, and was truly a help- 
mate to him in all his labors. It is, there- 
fore, fitting that she be thus identified with 
the continuation of his ministry — "the works 
that follow" — in sending forth this volume 
to inspire and encourage others in the way 
of righteousness and fruitfulness. 

The father of Wilbur Meminger was a 
minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
of marked piety, whose stately form and sol- 
emn, but stirring sermons, are among my 






Introduction 13 

early recollections. The father's brother, 
"Uncle John," with his wife, is still living, 
past four score years old; a man of sterling 
uprightness, a leading layman in the church 
for most of his long life, and has a son who 
is in the ministry. They were neighbors of 
ours in Pennsylvania for many years, now 
living in Oregon, where it was my privi- 
lege to visit them some weeks ago and talk 
over past events, the most sacred and touch- 
ing one being the departure of Wilbur to be 
with the Lord. 

My acquaintance with Wilbur F. Memin- 
ger dates from about 1892, shortly after we 
(Mrs. Senft and myself) opened a full gos- 
pel work in Altoona, Pa., which was after- 
wards organized as one of the first Alliance 
branches in Pennsylvania. Elsewhere in 
this memoir, brief mention is made of what 
transpired during those early days of our 
association with him. 

Living in Tyrone, only fourteen miles 
from Altoona, Mr. Meminger, with others, 
often met with us in our meetings, and he 
would never shrink from giving a message 
or witnessing, with a clear note and sonor- 
ous voice, to the grace and power of God, 
while at the same time he was humble and 



14 " The Little Man from Chicago n 

teachable, learning the way of life more per- 
fectly., especially along the lines of the gos- 
pel for the body and the gospel of the King- 
dom. Soon regular meetings were opened 
in Tyrone. Thus our dear brother, still in 
business and active in the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, yet loyally standing by the 
Alliance meetings, was being prepared for 
the busy and blessed years of service that 
followed. 

His striking and sound conversion, fol- 
lowing real Bible conviction, the clear-cut 
experience of a second work of grace, sanc- 
tification, which led to a thorough consecra- 
tion of his life to God for service, set on fire 
by the Holy Spirit for souls and his wide 
and successful evangelistic ministry, pre- 
pared him for the deepening and mellowing 
influences of the Alliance fellowship, which 
more fully equipped him for the wider work 
of his remaining years. 

Xo printed volumes of sermons have been 
left by this gifted servant of God, but his 
unique, stirring and Scriptural messages, 
with outbursts of inspiring and inimitable 
eloquence, like the rolling thunder and the 
flash of lightning, and again as gentle and 



Introduction 15 

tender as the morning dew, — who can for- 
get them? 

One of his last addresses given in the Gos- 
pel Tabernacle, New York, during the con- 
vention, was on the text, "Which things the 
angels desire to look into" (I. Peter i. 12). 
It was marked by the unction of the Spirit 
and given in his characteristic manner, only 
with a deeper pathos, power and tenderness, 
as he depicted the love of God, the scenes 
of Calvary and the mysteries of Redemption, 
revealed and made real to the penitent and 
believing sinner — "which things the angels 
desire to look into." 

The blessing and beauty of the Lord was 
to this man of God the cause and necessary 
condition of his faithful and fruitful serv- 
ice. This is the thought of the Psalmist : 

"Let the beauty of the Lord our God be 
upon us, and establish Thou the work of 
our hands." 

This record is earnestly recommended to 
the many friends of our fellow servant, with 
the prayer that the reading of it shall stimu- 
late many of God's children to live and la- 
bor for the speedy coming of the Bride- 
groom when the sevenfold promise shall be 
fulfilled: 



16 * The Little Man from Chicago " 

"And there shall be no more curse ; 
But the throne of God and the Lamb shall 

be in it ; 
And His servants shall serve Him; 
And they shall see His face; 
And His name shall be in their foreheads. 
And there shall be no night there; 
And they shall reign forever and ever." 
— Revelation xxii. 3-5. 
Frederick Herbert Senft. 
Philadelphia, Pa., April 12, 1910. 




WILBUR MEMINGER, 
AGE l6 MONTHS. 



Chapter I. 
HIS BOYHOOD. 

IT seems to be a law of nature that back of 
every effect we find a cause; so it is but 
natural to trace the ancestry back of 
every son of genius. 

Wilbur Fisk Meminger was born in 
Hedgesville, Va., April 29th, 1851. 

Back of Wilbur Meminger was a father, 
William McKean M'eminger, who was an 
intellectual giant, a man of deep spirituality. 
A Hebrew, Greek and Latin scholar he was 
ever ready to give his children instruction. 
He was of colonial descent, Thomas Mc- 
Kean being a relative, and others of Puri- 
tan stock. He was a minister for over forty 
years, and his great success in the church 
was no doubt due in part to the fact that his 
pulpit life and his home life were in perfect 
harmony. The records show that four 
thousand souls were won to Christ by him. 

William Meminger married Rebecca 
Watts. Born and reared in Virginia she 
had the soft voice, sweet manner and win- 
ning personality of the Virginians. Al- 



18 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

though educated in the best schools she was 
a home-loving woman, and here she ap- 
peared at her best. Her father, Rev. James 
Watts, was a pioneer preacher, a scholar, a 
poet, a descendant of Isaac Watts, the au- 
thor of many hymns. He was also an inti- 
mate friend and helper of Francis Asbury. 

Five children were born to the couple, two 
boys and three girls, and coming from Meth- 
odist ancestors it was not strange that they 
should name their firstborn Wilbur Fisk af- 
ter one of the most godly and highly cul- 
tured ministers of the church, Rev. Wilbur 
Fisk, D.D., President of the Wesleyan Uni- 
versity. 

Sarah Meminger Heaton, a sister to Wil- 
bur, in recalling their childhood days, says : 

"The first recollections of my brother are 
at our home in Middletown, Md. The house 
was a long rambling one, with w r ide porches, 
where he and I rode horse back and went 
fishing, in our imagination. Rev. E. J. 
Gray, D.D., then a young man, made his 
home with us and added no little to our 
pleasure with his stories of Joseph, David 
and of Paul. 'Six days shalt thou labor' was 
the rule taught and lived at this Methodist 
home, and on Sunday all toys and working 



His Boyhood 19 

tools were put aside. Brother in his best 
suit, we girls in our crimson merinos went 
to service, as the baby kept mother at home. 
After dinner 'The Ladies' Repository/ with 
its wonderful engravings, 'Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress,' with its Dioubting Castle, and 'The 
Story of the Bible' made the afternoons a 
delight. 

"As I look back upon those peaceful Sab- 
baths I see through the mists of years fath- 
er, mother, brother and sister about the fire- 
place holding family worship. After read- 
ing the Scripture we arose and sang one of 
the sweet old hymns, our childish treble 
mingling with the deeper tones of father and 
brother. 

"As a student Wilbur attended the best 
schools, where he developed a rather ex- 
traordinary talent for oratory and elocution. 
Nothing pleased us more than to have him 
recite in the evenings. One of our favorites 
was Edgar Allan Poe's 'Raven.' So thrilling 
and real were his portrayal that we looked 
above the door expecting to see the unwel- 
come visitor. We vigorously applauded 
'Bingen on the Rhine,' 'Charge of the Light 
Brigade,' and others. 



20 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

"The following was an essay written by 
him at the age of nine or ten: 

" 'THE FOURTH OF JULY. 

" 'On this day the American Eagle soared 
aloft. This day I think is worthy to be the 
first day of the year, it matters not in what 
immediate month such an illustrious day 
comes. The Declaration of the Indepen- 
dence of the United States was declared. It 
is hardly worth while to mention the names 
of the signers of this Declaration, but I will 
merely state that I was not fortunate enough 
to sign it. I always celebrate it by staying 
out of school and getting behind in my 
classes, so you see I make some sacrifice. 

" T think the President should take his 
seat on this illustrious day. We, the citi- 
zens, should give three or four cheers extra ; 
we should have an extra dinner and an ex- 
tra session of Sunday school in the after- 
noon, and build bonfires all night, give three 
or four cheers for that great man, the Father 
of his Country, George Washington. Every 
family should hang out a flag or two, or if 
they can't afford that they should give three 
or four cheers for the Fourth of July. It is 
best not to call anything to raise your spir- 



His Boyhood 21 

its, lest you get them too high. I have seen 
people whose spirits were rather too high on 
such occasions. 

" 'After having exhorted you to be patri- 
otic, but sober, I will close by saying three 
or four cheers for the Fourth of July. 

" 'Wilbur F. MJeminger.' 

"The following was a farewell address 
written by him at the age of sixteen when 
leaving the Bel Air Academy, Maryland. 

" 'farewell address by w. f. meminger. 

"'Honored Teacher: 

" 'Time's rolling stream is ever bearing us 
onward. The time has come, at last, when I 
must bid you a final farewell. 

' 'As I gaze upon your countenance, 
which has become so familiar to me, a flood 
tide of emotion sweeps over my saddened 
heart. Must I say farewell to you, my more 
than teacher? You have honored me with 
your friendship, and I feel a debt of grati- 
tude for your counsel, confidence, and affec- 
tionate instruction, which words cannot ex- 
press. The endearing relations which we 
have mutually sustained must now be sev- 
ered. You have labored unceasingly to pro- 
mote my greatest good, and highest happi- 



22 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

ness, and from my grateful heart, I thank 
you. May you be abundantly rewarded in 
this life, and in that which is to come. 
" 'Beloved Schoolmates : 

" 'Sad indeed are the partings which sep- 
arate us, and send us forth by different path- 
ways into the great thoroughfares of life. 
We have journeyed together pleasantly dur- 
ing my stay in Bel x\ir, and ere we part, I 
would say to you, Be encouraged by past 
experience to press onward through every 
varying hour. The path which lies before 
you may be difficult of ascent; and should 
you grow weary by the way, should the in- 
spiring "Excelsior" falter on your lips, lift 
up your eyes, and gather strength to go for- 
ward, for the treasures which are found only 
at the summit. There is a long path to be 
trodden, and many shadows will gather over 
it, but journey not through this beautiful 
world, with your eyes closed to its sweet, 
inspiring influences. 

; 'Turn not wearily away from the pres- 
ent, looking forward to the days to come; 
but improve each passing moment, so that 
you will have no cause for regret in after 
life for having wasted your golden mo- 
ments. 



His Boyhood 23 

" 'My hope and my prayer shall be, that 
you may succeed in every department of 
study, and reflect honor on whatever insti- 
tution you may be connected with. 

" 'Lovingly and hopefully I say farewell. 
May heaven bless you all. Farewell.' 

"In the backyard of our house was a large 
spring, quite deep. One day as I was sail- 
ing boats of paper, I plunged in; brother 
heard the spash and came running, caught 
me as I was sinking again and carried me to 
mother. Every one remarked on the great 
presence of mind he had shown, though 
quite young, and I felt proud of my brave 
elder brother who had saved my life. 

"From Middletown the family moved to 
Liberty, Md. Already the mutterings of 
war were heard ; many were the discussions 
held by the leading men of the town, as to 
the best measures to be pursued. The first 
shot which smote the side of Fort Sumter, 
echoed from shore to shore, and wakened 
the patriotism of many a soul. The lad Wil- 
bur, at the age of twelve, felt his blood 
stirred. With heart glowing with bravery, 
and his young mind alive with the splendid 
thought of fighting for his country, he and a 



24 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

boy friend left home and offered themselves 
as soldiers for the Union. Of course, being 
so young they were rejected, but in a kind- 
ly way, and were sent home. Often in later 
life when referring to this incident in a ser- 
mon, he would say, 'I did not feel near so 
brave when I marched into my father's 
study to settle accounts for leaving home, 
for he believed like Solomon to spare the 
rod was to spoil the child. So, while I had 
hoped to carry the flag it was in a different 
way; but I certainly wore black and blue 
stripes for several days after the surrender 
in the study.' Nevertheless this showed the 
resolve and courage, and the large aim of 
this boy. It was not a childish excitement, 
but aroused principles ; and just as the voice 
of suffering ones called to him from the 
South, where the soil was drenched with 
blood, and nameless graves were scattered ; 
so, in later years, the voice of sin-sick souls 
called to him from the city, the cabin, the 
dark den of sin, as well as from the homes 
of the rich and cultured, until his voice had 
been heard in every State of the Union save 
one, and his influence had built up places of 
worship in this and foreign lands. 

"Another incident which shows the moral 




WILBUR M EM I NGER 
AGE I 2 \ R \KS. 



His Boyhood 25 

fibre and innate nobility of the youth oc- 
curred soon after this. The itinerant wheel 
in its revolution had sent the family to 
Westminster, Md., not far from Baltimore, 
and troops were passing through constant- 
ly. It was a well-known fact that at the 
Methodist parsonage soldiers were fed and 
cared for. The soldiers were passing 
through one day and one of them asked the 
bright eyed preacher's son to go to the hotel 
near by and get his canteen filled with 
liquor, at the same time handing him a ten 
dollar bill and adding, 'Keep what is left.' 
Looking up into his face the boy said, 'Sir, 
I cannot do it; it would be wrong; but my 
mother has good hot soup ready for you.' 
In a few moments he had placed a bowl of 
steaming soup into the hands of the half 
sick soldier who ate it with a relish. A 
hearty 'Thank you' was reward enough, but 
when the soldier said, Til send this money 
home/ Wilbur felt happy indeed. 

"So when owing to his great popularity 
years afterward he was urged to come to 
the front in the political circle of his city, he 
felt he could not conscientiously do so, but 
preferred the reward of a humble evangel- 
ist whose going to and fro were the move- 



26 " The Little Man from Chicago n 

ments of God's own loom and shuttle as he 
wove the fabrics of surrendered lives. " 

Wilbur had a cousin whom he loved dear- 
ly. They were nearly the same age. This 
cousin, now the Rev. James Watts Shoaff, 
is a Presiding Elder in the California Meth- 
odist Conference South. Just a few months 
prior to his home call Wilbur Meminger 
visited this cousin and together they went 
over the scenes of their boyhood. They 
loved each other dearly and in recalling 
some of their boyhood days Mr. Shoaff 
writes : 

"M'y sainted cousin, Rev. Wilbur F. 
Meminger, came into this world just one 
year before the writer. In babyhood and 
childhood we were much together. Never 
were two boys more completely mated. 
Such a thing as a quarrel was never known 
between us. We had much that was in 
common. We were the grandsons of one 
of the early Methodist preachers of the Bal- 
timore Conference, the Rev. James Watts. 
We were both the sons of Methodist 
preachers and were proud to be recognized 
as such. Wilbur was the soul of honor and 
frankness. He was as pure as the morning 
air. He was as full of fun as a luscious 



His Boyhood 27 

orange is full of juice, and as generous as a 
mountain stream. He would never keep the 
larger portion for himself. He would di- 
vide what he had with his playmates with a 
royal generosity. If he teased it was with 
merry laughter. I do not remember of ever 
seeing him in a sulky mood. 

"When his father was stationed in Fros- 
burg, Md., upon one occasion our parents 
took us with them to Mount Pisgah, where 
we spent several days with friends. It was 
midwinter. We had the coasting of our 
lives. We coasted downhill and snow- 
balled each other going up. Wilbur's 
cheeks were like roses and his dark brown 
eyes flashed with delight. I seem to hear 
his voice to-day as it echoed amid the silent, 
snow-clad hills. 

"In the summer days when we happened 
to be together he delighted in gathering wild 
flowers and chasing butterflies. It was a 
delight for him to find a wasp's nest. When 
he did he never ceased to war a good war- 
fare. Somehow Wilbur and I seemed to be 
wasp-proof. How he would laugh and 
chuckle to see the other boys dip their 
heads and run for shelter. He would cry, 
'Drop to the ground and they will go over/ 



28 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

"Climb ! It seemed to me he could climb 
like a squirrel. A cherry tree was his de- 
light. The hoy who was afraid to climb did 
not lack for cherries, for if they were in the 
tree Wilbur would be sure to shower them 
down. 

"What royal times we had hunting chest- 
nuts ! When the burrs had opened and the 
winds had shaken the trees we were there 
early to gather the nuts. When we had 
gathered a good supply we would have a 
chestnut boil or a chestnut roast. We were 
specially anxious for our parents to enjoy 
them, not only because we desired to have 
them enjoy them, but because we w r ould be 
likely to get permission to go on another 
cuting. 

"The first year of the war between the 
States, Wilbur and I were together for sev- 
eral months. Wilbur was Union. I was 
Rebel, and yet our love was the same. We 
played soldier together under the circum- 
stances with peculiar avidity — an avidity 
that was void of acrimony. The banner that 
floated over us was love. 

"Wilbur and I were very fond of Upton, 
a colored boy who was employed by the 
month. But our love for Upton did not de- 



His Boyhood 29 

ter us from having some pleasure at his ex- 
pense even if it cost us the strain of grim 
silence. The woodpile and the barn were 
close together. With Upton at the wood- 
pile, that was our opportunity. In silence 
we gathered our ammunition in the shape of 
corncobs. Think of two boys doing that fot 
several hours and saying not a word. Stor- 
ing the cobs in the haymow, we waited foi 
Upton to begin his work at the woodpile, a 
job that would keep him employed several 
hours in the afternoon. By a ruse that Up- 
ton did not suspect we made our way to the 
barn. Ascending the haymow, where we 
had our ammunition concealed, we hurled 
our corncobs at Upton's woolly pate. He 
could not see us. We never hurled a cob 
when he looked our way. The mystery to 
Upton was the source of the corncobs. They 
seemed to be tangled up between his axe 
and woolly head. Upton believed in ghosts. 
His peculiar grunt as he swung his axe was 
answered by a like grunt on our part. As 
he turned to look, how the whites of his eyes 
shone in the sunlight. Hbw we laughed 
with a noiseless laugh — but it was fun run- 
ning over. The thing became too serious 
for Upton. So he went to Aunt Rebecca 



30 " The Little Man from Chicago " 



to see if she could explain the mystery. She 
solved the mystery and interpreted its 
meaning with the use of a slipper which did 
not even expel the happy memory of that 
afternoon in all the years that followed. To 
speak of Upton and the corncobs was to 
give us a hearty laugh that shook our sides 
in years of sober manhood. 

"What happy days we spent together at 
bat and ball and marbles. How we climbed 
the trees and roamed the fields and splashed 
our feet in meadow brooks. We loved our 
sisters and enjoyed our games with them. 
But Wilbur and I delighted in the strenuous 
exertions that belonged to the daring boy. 

"Through all the years we loved each 
other. On his last visit to the Pacific Coast 
Cousin Wilbur with his wife visited us in 
Los Angeles. He delivered a memorable 
sermon in Trinity Methodist Episcopal 
Church South, of which I was pastor. I 
had never had the pleasure of hearing him 
preach until then. How he preached! Ev- 
ery word he uttered seemed fragrant with 
the breath of heaven. What a joy it was 
after the lapse of years to be with him again. 
We lightened the cares of manhood with 
the memories of bygone days. Over the 



His Boyhood 31 

flight of years stretches the rainbow light of 
heaven. M[y life has been made richer by 
the childhood, youth and strong manhood 
of my sainted cousin, Rev. Wilbur Fisk 
Meminger." 






Chapter II. 
HIS CONVERSION. 

''Sinking and panting as for breath 

I knew not help was near me; 
I cried, 'Oh, save me, Lord from death, 

Immortal Jesus, hear me; 
Then quick as thought I felt Him mine, 

My Saviour stood before me; 
I saw His brightness round me shine, 

And shouted 'Glory, glory.' " 

WHILE Tyrone was but a small village 
its first hotel was built by John D. 
Stewart. This hotel contained a bar 
and a billiard room ; but one evening its 
owner attended a Union Prayer Meeting 
held in a school house. He was intoxicated 
and also carried a bottle of whiskey in his 
pocket. The earnest appeal by the leader 
brought him to the mourners' bench ; but 
under the influence of liquor the workers 
did not think that he knew what he was 
doing. He left the meeting sober, how- 
ever, although unsaved, and returning home 
confided to his wife that he had sought sal- 
vation at the mourners' bench. At this Mrs. 




Q 
< 




His Conversion 33 

Stewart wept for she thought he was mere- 
ly mocking at religion. But the next even- 
ing he returned to the school house, this 
time perfectly sober, and at the mourners' 
bench was instantly saved. That evening 
he reported to his wife that he had been 
saved, and again she wept as she realized 
that she knew nothing of this salvation, and 
the following evening she too attended the 
meeting and was as definitely saved as her 
husband. 

The next day a family altar was set up in 
their home; the barrels of liquor were car- 
ried to the sidewalk and emptied into the 
gutter; the billiard tables were burned, and 
the business closed. 

Mr. Stewart was known as the converted 
"Gambler and Hotel Landlord." Some 
years later he became the stalwart "Holi- 
ness Advocate of Central Pennsylvania." He 
was also a pioneer preacher, an ordained 
elder who traveled and preached through 
the great forest of Blair, Clearfield and Cen- 
tre Counties, before any railroad penetrated 
that vast and wild country. He, after the 
marriage of Wilbur Mjeminger to his daugh- 
ter Laura, became closely associated with 
him in his evangelistic work. 



34 " The Little Man from Chicago n 

In 1873 Mr. Stewart was assisting the 
Rev. James H. McCord, Pastor of the Old 
Methodist Episcopal Church Pennsylvania 
Conference, in revival services. Mr. Mc- 
Cord was an old-time Methodist minister. 
He was a preacher, evangelist, revivalist and 
an orator. His rendering of a hymn gave 
more inspiration to his hearers than ser- 
mons by abler men. Under his funeral ser- 
mons it was well nigh impossible to keep 
silence in the congregation. His revival 
sermons struck such terror to the hearts of 
the unsaved that it was hard for them to re- 
fuse an invitation to seek salvation. 

For three months Rev. Mr. McCord 
preached exclusively on the doctrine of 
Holiness, Perfection and Sanctification. 
The doctrine had been preached previous to 
that time and a number of the members had 
received such a work of grace. This doc- 
trine brought antagonism from the worldly 
side of the church and rank criticism from 
those who could not show clean lives, who 
enjoyed, at that time, official relation to the 
church. Threats of church division, splits 
new church, and all the arts of the arch 
demon were employed to cast reproach 
upon the preaching. Personal attacks were 



His Conversion 35 

heard in the meetings. Conspiracy by anti- 
holiness members, some of whom were on 
the official board, were entered into for the 
purpose of breaking up the meeting. Strange 
to say all the meetings were well attended 
and much interest manifested. 

The doctrine of Holiness was not 
preached in the haphazard way in which it 
is handed out to-day by many of the 
preachers; but by the Scriptures, reason, 
history and experience; expressions and 
comments from the early founders of 
M'ethodism, articles of religion, catechism 
and doctrines of all the evangelical 
churches ; all the leading commentators of 
the different churches, tracts, pamphlets, 
indorsements of Wesley, Watson, Fletcher 
and others who in any way added evidence 
upon the subject. At times a number of 
books with markers could be seen around 
the Pastor's desk. 

Fierce and long the struggle raged ; but 
no one was saved. It looked as if this doc- 
trine handed down to us from the early 
fathers was not sufficient for the up-to-date 
customs and usages of the day. 

At this time special meetings were in 
progress in the other churches of the town, 



36 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

and seekers and inquirers began to present 
themselves as subjects of prayer. 

At first the Presbyterian Church had a 
few inquirers; then the United Brethren, 
then the Baptist and finally a few were 
found in the Methodist Episcopal Chapel 
in the East End, which at this time was 
supported by the insurgents and anti-holi- 
ness people of the Old Methodist Episcopal 
Church. The Old Methodist Episcopal 
Church was apparently void of life, although 
meetings were held every afternoon and 
evening with good attendance. 

At the close of a meeting one evening, 
the Pastor was informed by a woman that if 
an invitation had been given a seeker would 
have presented herself for prayer. Hurried 
efforts were made to apprehend the woman, 
but it was too late. 

On the following night an invitation was 
offered when a young man, Mr. B — came 
forward. The next afternoon two or three ; 
that evening several, then a dozen, twenty, 
thirty, forty, and finally sixty were forward 
crying for mercy and a new life. The con- 
versions followed in rapid succession and 
in two weeks two hundred and twenty-five 
persons were brought to know Jesus as a 



His Conversion 37 

Saviour. Among this number was Wilbur 
Meminger, a young man in the bloom of 
youth, with all the vigor of soul, body and 
spirit, with a sanguine temperament, and a 
capacity possessed by few to enjoy the 
pleasures of the world. 

Not only did he possess these, but he had 
a bright mind which, harnessed with a ro- 
bust body, gave him a capacity for learning. 
Already had his mind begun to reach out 
along the line of reason and research, and 
on account of his environments, infidel lit- 
erature had found its way into his hands. 
His companions were skeptical in reference 
to the Bible and religion and among strang- 
ers he soon became like them. His own 
words will best express his condition at this 
time: "When I was lost in sin and sinful 
pleasure and fast drifting upon the rocks of 
infidelity I found Jesus who saved me from 
ruin." 

Interesting is it to note that on this very 
night of conversion his saintly father, sev- 
eral hundred miles away, had completed his 
Saturday work, including the preparation of 
his sermon for the morrow; but before re- 
tiring dropped to his knees and prayed ear- 



38 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

nestly for just one thing, the conversion of 
his son Wilbur. 

And the Holy Spirit at the same hour 
flashed the picture of the praying father be- 
fore the mind of the son and impelled him 
to seek his father's God. 

The conversion of this young man was 
the foundation of the character which 
showed all through his life and on which 
securely rested the building and super- 
structure of later years. 

Only a few days elapsed until Mr. Memin- 
ger was asked to lead the Young People's 
Meeting then held in the basement of the 
church. "I can see," says one, "that room 
now, with its old straight back red benches, 
full of scratches, with its old whitewashed 
heaters, with its little squat windows and 
low ceilings, and its square wooden sup- 
ports and its 'Amen Corner.' There is quite 
a contrast when we look at the more modern 
church with its stained glass windows, its 
velvet carpets, its grand pipe organ and all 
modern conveniences. The one was con- 
spicuous for its 'Glories,' 'Hallelujahs,' 
and 'Amens' ; the latter for its silence. 

"This Sabbath evening I see this young 
man taking his first step in public Chris- 



His Conversion 39 

tian work. As he arose with the Bible in 
his hand, his voice trembling, he said, 'I 
perceive that God is no respecter of per- 
sons.' This was his first message. His last 
words in New York, were, 'Amen, my heart 
is breaking for souls.' ' 

Referring again to his first service, he read 
a few passages of Scripture. A few re- 
marks, a short story of his conversion, was 
the substance of his talk at this time. He 
joined the church on probation, was assigned 
to a class and at the end of the probation 
was received into full membership. 

At the revival meetings a lot of young 
men and friends of Mr. Meminger were con- 
verted, who helped each other, by their sym- 
pathy, their encouragement and association 
in and out of the church. 



Chapter III. 
HIS BUSINESS CAREER. 

IN his boyhood a great desire to be useful 
seemed to take possession of Wilbur 
Meminger, and he began to weigh the 
different callings in life in order to decide 
which one would give the greatest field of 
usefulness. He was willing to choose a 
life work that was full of close application, 
great discipline and strenuous work, if it 
might bring to him a position of merit and 
honor in later years. 

He sought and tried to get a scholarship 
in the Naval Academy, and was successful 
in so far as to be promised this rare privi- 
lege and had the approval of the President 
of the United States. This appointment, 
however, was not forthcoming on account of 
some political changes that took place at 
that particular time. If this position had 
been obtained, Mr. Meminger might to-day 
have been among the foremost naval offi- 
cers of the day, bedecked with honors, both 
of peace and war, of the greatest nation on 
the globe. Instead he has fallen a soldier in 




WILBUR M I'M I NGER, 
AGE 45 YEARS, 



His Business Career 41 

the Army of Christ, with the great honor of 
being carried from the battlefield in a dying 
condition. Soldiers who die on the field of 
battle can be identified by the marks upon 
them, to what Corps, Division, Brigade, 
Regiment or Company they belong, and by 
their straps, if officers, what rank they hold. 
It might be some satisfaction to us if we 
could know the rank he held; but we will be 
content to know, "For now we see through 
a glass darkly ; but then face to face ; now we 
know in part; but then shall we know even 
as also we are known." We cannot tell his 
rank, but like many an officer in our Civil 
strife, he kept as much as possible in the 
background. 

The disappointment of not receiving the 
scholarship in the Naval Academy, was felt 
keenly by this young man; but it was the 
Lord's way of banking up the little life 
stream that made it change its course from 
a life of outward conflict to one of inward 
conflict, from a service of self to a service 
for Christ and others. 

Mr. Meminger commenced his business 
career when a very young man as a clerk in 
the General Mercantile store of A. B. Hoo- 
ver, then the leading merchant in his town 



42 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

of Tyrone, Pa. After serving there for some 
time, he decided to learn the clothing busi- 
ness and hired as a clerk under C. J. Kegel, 
then the foremost business man in that line 
in Tyrone, and continued there until 1879, 
when he opened a store under the firm name 
of Meminger & Stewart. 

It was during his stay with C. J. Kegel 
that he met and became acquainted with 
Laura, the daughter of Rev. J. D. Stewart, 
who a number of years afterward became 
his wife. On July 8, 1880, this firm which 
had just begun to do business, was driven 
out by a very disastrous fire that burned 
out all the principal business section in 
town. By prompt action and helpful friends 
they managed to escape with a nominal loss. 
They managed to get temporary quarters 
until the building was remodeled and made 
the most beautiful quarter in town. After a 
year or two the firm changed to W. F. Mem- 
inger, and the business continued to grow 
and prosper until it became the leading 
clothing store of the town. Mr. Meminger 
continued in business at this stand until 
January, 1897, when the building and con- 
tents were again ruined by fire and water. 

After this fire Mr. Meminger closed his 



His Business Career 43 

business and soon was summoned to take 
charge of the work of the Christian and 
Missionary Alliance in Chicago, Illinois. 

During his business career he had one fac- 
tor in his life, that gave much force and 
success in his business as well as in his 
evangelistic work. It was promptness. He 
was always on time. At the store, in the 
home, at the church, everywhere he was on 
time. When he made a promise or a con- 
tract he was there to meet it. If he gave a 
note, he was there when the note became 
due, either to renew or cancel his paper. 

The Bible was always on the left side 
corner of his writing desk. It was his guide. 
It was the light of his life. In it were the 
issues of life. It exposed error and con- 
tained all seasonable truth. It gave dignity 
to the meanest duty, and it told him of for- 
giveness for the greatest sin. How much 
indeed was this man indebted to this Book ! 



Chapter IV. 
A CLASS LEADER. 

IT was not long after his conversion be- 
fore he showed a devotion to the church 
and a desire to be useful along the line 
of Christian work. 

He was first appointed Sunday school 
teacher, then steward, class leader, trustee, 
exhorter, local preacher, and finally Sunday 
school superintendent. He soon became 
popular among the rank and file of the 
church and was nominated and elected Sun- 
day school superintendent in opposition to 
some old live workers. This caused con- 
sternation and dissatisfaction in the ranks of 
the old live officers, finally causing the 
preacher in charge to disband the Sunday 
school and take the reins in his own hands. 
This put a damper on the progress of Mr. 
Meminger in official duty in the Sunday 
school, yet he still continued to teach his 
class and was content in any position he oc- 
cupied. 

Year after year as his friends urged him to 
take the office of Superintendent he always 



A Class Leader 45 

declined; but finally he was nominated, 
elected and served five years or more. He 
now had plenty to perplex him, much to try 
his patience and enough to perfect him in 
love. He was successful in this position and 
had the support and co-operation of the offi- 
ciary of the branch. 

The Sunday school was kept on the spirit- 
ual line and all the instruction that could 
be used for the repentance and conversion 
of the scholars was put forth. 

He was also leader of one of the classes 
in the church, known far and near as the 
"Tuesday Night Class." Wilbur's brother 
thus recalls the beginning of his leadership 
of the Tuesday Night Class : 

"The Rev. Finley Riddle was the pastor 
in charge of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church at Tyrone, Pa., of which Wilbur 
was an active member. The Tuesday night 
class was one that seldom met, and in order 
to remedy this state of affairs the Rev. M'r. 
Riddle called at the store one Monday morn- 
ing and informed Wilbur that he had ap- 
pointed him to lead that class. Wilbur was 
astonished, and offered many reasons why 
he could not accept it. But the pastor used 
every objection Wilbur made as the very 



46 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

reason why he should take the class. Final- 
ly Wilbur said, 'Why, Brother Riddle, if I 
lead that class no one at all will come.' 'So 
much the better for you/ said the minis- 
ter, 'you will not have to stay long and can 
come back to your store.' As he said this 
he laid a new class book on the desk and 
told Wilbur that he had transferred all the 
names from the old one and that this book 
was twenty-five cents. 'And you,' he said, 
looking at me, 'wrap up a box of collars for 
me. I will try and see you Wednesday. 
Good-day.' I handed him his package as 
he passed out of the store and noticed the 
broad smile on his smooth face as he re- 
peated his favorite expression of 'Good-day.' 
"Tuesday at 7.30 P.M. Wilbur said to me, 
T am going up to the church — I may not be 
gone long.' He did not return to the store 
again that night and I presumed someone 
had been at the Tuesday night class. On 
the following Wednesday morning one of 
the first to call at the store was Rev. Mr. 
Riddle, and he waited until Wilbur arrived, 
when he said, 'How did you get along last 
night?' Wilbur said, 'Very well, there was 
one present.' 'Good,' said the Reverend, 
'you said no one at all would attend it. 



A Class Leader 47 

Good-day.' The next Tuesday night there 
were two present, and on the following 
Wednesday morning the Reverend was 
among the first to call at the store. As soon 
as Wilbur came in he asked, 'Well, how did 
you get along last night?' Wilbur report- 
ed as above. 'Two,' exclaimed the Rever- 
end, 'and you said you could not lead that 
class. Why, my dear brother, there is an 
increase in the attendance on the second 
night under your leadership of a hundred 
per cent. — you are the very man for the 
class. I knew that or I would not have ap- 
pointed you to lead it. Good-day.' The at- 
tendance increased until it filled the class 
room and they moved into the one used by 
the Infant Department of the Sunday school. 
Many came from quite a distance to have 
the truth, for it became known abroad that 
Wilbur made the way plain that without 
holiness no man shall see the Lord." 

Mr. Mleminger, realizing the responsibil- 
ity as a class leader, felt it his duty to enlist 
as many as possible to attend regularly. He 
used all his energies from time to time, vis- 
iting and entreating; but with all the work 
to build up the class it seemed to decrease 
in numbers and interest. This looked very 



48 * The Little Man from Chicago » 

discouraging to him and was a hard blow 
on the earnest efforts of a young man so full 
of zeal for Christ and the church. It was 
only the entering of the wedge, by which 
the life of faith might exemplify itself in his 
life and his work in after years. 

In all church or Christian work in any 
place, it will be found that there are at least 
two or three who have their heart in the 
work and are ready to go forward against all 
odds, all discouragements, and failure, on, 
on, to success. The Tuesday night class 
was not without one in the person of Mrs. 
C — , a faithful and devoted Christian wom- 
an, a kind mother, one who was always 
faithful in attendance at church and ready 
to help others. At the close of a meeting one 
Tuesday night, it seemed more than ever 
this meeting was a failure. Mr. Meminger 
had made up his mind that the class must 
succeed or the book would be handed to 
the pastor. He talked with Mrs. C — about 
it and both seemed to think it ought not 
only to be continued, but that much good 
should be derived from the mutual fellow- 
ship which only can be had in this peculiar 
means of grace. It was decided that prayer, 
then and there should answer the question 



A Class Leader 49 

alone. There in that little room, those two 
openly prayed, and earnestly petitioned God 
to show them His will in reference to this 
meeting and in a short time they arose with 
the assurance that He would now bless their 
efforts with much success. Here we may 
truthfully say was the birthplace of the 
Holiness Class of the First Methodist Epis- 
copal Church of Tyrone, Pa. 

The class now grew in numbers and pow- 
er; some came through curiosity, others as 
honest seekers after righteousness. It was 
not many years until it reached seventy 
members in all, regular and transient. Soon 
a large number had entered into the experi- 
ence of perfect love, became stalwart Chris- 
tians and their testimony was heard in all 
the experience meetings of the church. I 
may say here that the class soon became 
the place for all who were pressing on to 
higher ground. It was the backbone of the 
spiritual element of the church. This was 
not a winter class, that lasted only while 
special effort was made for converts ; but 
had as much interest in July as in December. 

During this time Mr. Meminger was en- 
gaged in the clothing and gents' furnishing 
business in the same town; but this did not 



50 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

interfere at all with his duty to his church 
or class, for at 7.30 Tuesday evening Mr. 
Meminger could be seen going toward the 
church with a small box under his arm, bow- 
ing to this friend and to that business man, 
gathering several members on the way to 
the class, where other members were in 
waiting for their leader. 

Among the members there were at least 
half a dozen good male singers who were 
capable of leading revival singing; and this 
was another asset to the class. The order 
of the class was silent prayer by the leader, 
placing of the little box on the table, and 
then the singing began to roll as if an old 
time revival had been in progress for a 
month. After a few inspiring hymns had 
been sung, and a prayer or two, one by the 
leader, a Scripture lesson would be read, 
and then Mr. Meminger would commence 
the lesson, give some needed exhortation 
and encouragement, and then call for testi- 
monies. 

At the close of class Mr. Meminger would 
move a small table out in the centre of the 
floor, which he called "The Ark," and ask 
all to gather around it, and ask the Lord for 
what they wanted. Those seeking for any- 



A Class Leader 51 

thing were gently asked to pray aloud, oth- 
ers joined in short prayers, and finally the 
leader would lead to the throne of grace, 
with such humility, confidence and bold- 
ness, that all seemed to take hold of the 
very horns of the altar. 

It was a rule among the members of this 
class as they met on the street, in the store, 
in church, or in the homes, that their con- 
versation should be upon heaven and heav- 
enly things. 

Another feature of the class was that 
every member was there on Tuesday and 
every Tuesday unless he was kept away by 
some unavoidable cause. All things were 
laid aside on that night and no engagements 
were made for that evening. 

Each member either in song, prayer, or 
testimony gave it in his own natural way. 
Each had his own personality and expres- 
sion which gave this gathering a marked 
contrast with the meetings where all seemed 
to be imitation instead of individuality. 

"I remember one cold ni^lit ,'' writes one 
member of this class, "as we gathered in 
the church; the class room was cold and in 
no condition to remain in. One member sug- 
gested an oil stove which he had, and his 



52 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

son was despatched some four or five 
squares away to get the heater; in the 
meantime the class kept warm by some 
lively singing. Soon the stove arrived and 
I need not say a glorious meeting followed. " 
Mr. Meminger interested this class in mis- 
sions, of which we shall hear later. He re- 
mained class leader until called to Chicago. 
Many have passed away, all of whom died 
in the triumphs of a living faith ; others have 
gone into Christian work, others are stand- 
ing for the full salvation in their own home 
town and other cities, some in China, some 
in Africa, others in South America, and 
some few have given up the faith. 

One of his class members, W. E. McKin- 
ney, writes thus of his beloved leader and 
friend : 

"One of the best and most able Christian 
workers that I have had the pleasure of 
knowing was Brother W. F. Meminger. 
My first recollection of him was at the great 
revival of Rev. Mr. McCord in the Old First 
Methodist Episcopal Church, on Railroad 
St., Tyrone. 

He was always at his post of duty, at the 
Sunday school, preaching service, prayer 
meeting and class meeting. I had the pleas- 




FIP i ME fHODIST EPIS< OP \i. < 11 URCH . fYRi >N1 



A Class Leader 53 

ure of working for him when he was Super- 
intendent of the Sunday school, as one of his 
teachers. So I watched him day after day 
and year after year, but he was just the 
same as when I first knew him, only more 
zealous for the Lord's cause. 

"In the revival under Rev. Geo. Penepack- 
er, after being at the altar thirteen nights, I 
was converted January 19, 1889. My friend 
and brother, who always was so much inter- 
ested in me, was right in front of me, talk- 
ing and praying with me. When the dear 
Lord Jesus came into my heart, I said, 
'Praise the Lord !' and the first person I saw 
was Brother Meminger, and how his face 
did shine, and I know he received some of 
the blessing which came to me. 

"After that my wife and I joined Brother 
Meminger's Tuesday night class meeting, 
and what grand and glorious times we did 
have in that old class meeting! We love to 
talk about it yet, and expect to meet some 
day. 

"While I was a member of his class I 
made him a little box to gather money for 
the Bishop William Taylor fund in Africa. 
So every Tuesday night the little box was 
brought by the leader and placed on the 



54 " The Little Man from Chicago n 

table, and any one was at liberty to con- 
tribute. It was opened every month and 
counted and the amount reported to the 
class. Then the brother would send it off to 
far-away Africa to help some one to find 
God. So the good brother was working in 
more ways than one. I have had many a 
heart to heart talk with him, when he was 
in the clothing business in Tyrone, Pa., and 
it has followed me all through my life. I 
felt when he was living that I always had a 
brother who was praying for me. He has 
been one of my best friends and when I 
needed advice or sympathy I knew where to 
go. The last time I had the pleasure of 
meeting and talking with him was at a con- 
vention on Wylie Ave., Pittsburg, Pa. I feel 
that he will always live in the hearts of a 
great many people for the great good that 
he did for them. Brother Meminger's influ- 
ence will live as long as I live, for I still 
hold fast to the same Jesus that he preached 
and served so faithfully." 



Chapter V. 

EVANGELISTIC WORK IN THE 
METHODIST CHURCH. 

WILBUR MEMINGER soon after his 
conversion felt he was called to 
preach the Gospel. He knew from 
the outside what it was to be a Methodist 
preacher, for he had from a babe been moved 
from place to place, and from town to town. 
He was the son of an itinerant preacher, and 
in those early days the hardships were great 
enough to satisfy the best of men. 

He was granted an exhorter's license and 
afterward was made local preacher by the 
quarterly conference. H|is father, Rev. W. 
M'. Meminger, was at this time in active 
service, and Wilbur Mleminger was not at a 
loss for revival work in helping his father 
on the circuits from time to time. 

He was assigned the regular course of 
study of the local preachers and had always 
been successful for years in all his examina- 
tions, until by sickness and overwork in bus- 
iness and preaching he was compelled to 
lay aside some few branches and was on 



56 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

this account (maybe) not passed in the ex- 
amination. 

This was the hardest blow yet given to 
the stalwart little man, as he did not look 
at it as a failure of study so much as it was 
an overabundance of Holiness and Sanctifi- 
cation, then so much disliked by those who 
would not embrace it. 

Let us look at one member of the com- 
mittee who would not let him continue as a 
local preacher. A full-fledged Methodist 
Episcopal minister, insane on horses, who 
would drive at a three-minute pace through 
the town in which he lived, shoot down a 
dog if it would bark at his wagon wheels. 
He received a commission in the U. S. Army 
as chaplain, served a short time, was court 
martialed for drunkenness and driven from 
its ranks. 

This was a damper upon the work of 
Wilbur Meminger, who continued to help 
his father and assisted other ministers in 
their work, holding meetings in out of town 
churches, halls, school rooms and in every 
place to which he was invited. 

He was not an evangelist that had to be 
paid an enormous sum for a few nights' 
service; but would take any offering that 



In the Methodist Church 57 

was given to him for his service. This soon 
brought him in favor with the men who 
were getting modest salaries and the calls 
soon began to come faster than he could 
fill them. 

In the meantime trusting his business to 
others, he devoted what time he could be- 
tween engagements, and with his whole be- 
ing thrown into the work, he soon began to 
have large revivals. In Bedford, Catawis- 
sa, Bellwood, Lion, Milesburg, Port Matil- 
da, York, Bald Eagle, Birmingham, Irons- 
ville, and other places scores and hundreds 
were converted to Jesus. 

One place deserves special mention. Some 
few members of the town of Ironsville 
(which derived its name from the forges and 
rolling mills located at that place), wished 
to have some preaching in the school house 
of the village. Several night meetings were 
held in the place without any success. 

At the close of the meeting one night, 
Mr. Meminger requested any person who 
was interested in a revival to remain. Nine 
persons remained for consecration and 
prayer. It was there at that time they be- 
lieved a great work would follow. 

This village was a very wicked place. 



58 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

Gambling, drinking, Sabbath desecration, 
and all the vices were fully practiced here. 
Soon the work commenced and soon seek- 
ers were at the altar, the number increas- 
ing until nearly the whole village was con- 
verted and transformed into a great relig- 
ious neighborhood. During the progress of 
this meeting one could see great, strong 
men break down into weeping, and go to 
the altar, crying, "God be merciful to me a 
sinner/' 

The meeting continued for weeks, and an 
organization was effected and soon a church 
in full working order was established. 

Next an auditorium was needed, but 
where was the money to build it? 

A site was selected and the ground brok- 
en, and soon labor was donated by the large, 
stalwart men of the forge, rolling mill and 
other occupations, and the picks, shovels 
and digging irons were soon throwing out 
the earth and stone for the foundations. 
Subscriptions and money began to come 
and in a few months the edifice was dedi- 
cated. This church was built on solid rock 
and still stands as a monument of faith and 
works of a few who were not afraid to ask 



In the Methodist Church 59 

God for something and were not surprised 
when it came. 

During the revival season in his own 
church Mr. Meminger was always there if 
in town. Sometimes he was called upon to 
fill the pulpit, at other times to exhort, lead 
prayer meetings, etc. His great success 
seemed to be in his work around the altar, 
leading the forces in prayer from seeming 
defeat on to glorious victory. "Often," says 
one, "I have seen him start at one end of 
the altar and finish at the other, after hav- 
ing helped all to take hold by faith and re- 
ceive salvation, while the singing would rise 
higher and re-echo from heaven to earth. 
As he would pass along from one to an- 
other and they received Jesus into their 
lives, he would shout : 'Sing the Doxology 
again! Salvation, oh, the joyful sound!' ' 

The Y. Mi. C. A. was organized in Tyrone 
and he became an active member in its ranks 
and did valiant service under two evangel- 
ists, who conducted successful revivals. He 
was also interested in the work, until he 
took up active work out of town. He also 
gave great support to the Salvation Army, 
which conducted a successful campaign in 



60 " The Little Man from Chicago » 

Tyrone for several years. He was a fre- 
quent visitor in the cities and always found 
his way to the missions and army meet- 
ings near by and did all he could to help 
men to a new life. 



Chapter VI. 

THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY 
SPIRIT. 

"Burn on, O fire of God, burn on, 

Till all my soul Christ's image bears, 
And ev'ry power and pulse within, 

His holy, heaven'ly nature wears. 

"Burn on, burn on ! O fire of God burn on, 

Till all my dross is burned away, 
Burn on, burn on ! prepare me for the testing day." 

IN his early Christian life Wilbur Memin- 
ger had a desire for a higher Christian 
experience, or to use his own words in 
later years, "the highest Christian experi- 
ence. " 

As he was converted under the preaching 
of a "Holiness man," it was his good for- 
tune to be under the instruction of a man 
who not only professed the grand doctrine 
taught by Wesley, of Perfection, Holiness 
and the Second Blessing; but understood it 
from an intellectual as well as a spiritual 
standpoint. 

This person was Rev. John D. Stewart, 



62 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

who for a number of years had kept this 
teaching before his people, as the grand 
privilege of the Christian. Air. Meminger 
soon became interested in this subject. He 
noticed how happy were the lives of this 
particular group of people. He also no- 
ticed another element among the professed 
followers of the same Christ, who were in 
direct opposition to this doctrine and whose 
opposition was directed against those who 
either professed, or sought or who were 
even in sympathy with them. 

This was a great wonder to him and no 
doubt held him from entering into this state 
of the Christian soon after his conversion. 
He thought, how can a man or woman who 
has received the light and life of Christ, not 
want any more of Him? He was hungering 
and thirsting after righteousness, while oth- 
ers were saying there was no more to get. 
He came to this conclusion: "If the men 
who have been instrumental in my salva- 
tion, say they possess the Holy Spirit and 
have shown clean lives, while the ones who 
oppose the doctrine have shady lives, I think 
there must be something in it that con- 
demns the very existence of evil in the 
heart." He decided to make a thorough 



The Holy Spirit 63 

search of the whole affair, by inquiry, read- 
ing, prayer and in all other ways he could 
find. 

Being a son of an old M'ethodist Episco- 
pal preacher it gave him prestige and ac- 
quaintance with many ministers whom he 
knew, and he was free to converse about 
the much abused and misunderstood doc- 
trine. Many answers were given him ; some 
encouraging and some discouraging and 
some from prejudiced minds, so that the last 
inquiry became more perplexing than the 
former. Thus his comforters had confused 
him more than encouraged him. Perhaps it 
was just what the Lord wanted, that he 
might accept it as a gift by faith rather than 
work it out by men's opinions. 

Still the testimony rolled on from those 
he could not doubt. He made it a special 
study from his Bible in his store, during 
the intervals of business activity. He made 
a number of journeys to camp meetings 
where he might hear something about him- 
self and the void that had not been filled. 

At this time he saw also the unpopularity 
of those who professed the doctrine; not 
because they were poor, not because they 



64 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

were not good Methodists ; not because they 
were not good citizens, but because they 
were willing to surrender all for Christ and 
lead clean lives. 

As there come decisions in every life in 
reference to questions that arise from time 
to time, and must be solved one way or the 
other, so now came the time when this ques- 
tion must be settled for him. He first decid- 
ed to go to a good camp meeting, where 
great preachers, who were well-versed in 
this doctrine, might be heard. 

He thought, "Oh, if I could only hear that 
great man, John S. Inskip, preach on it, 'the 
very God of Peace sanctify you wholly/ I 
believe I would get it; and if not, then John 
A. Wood, D.D., surely would help me out 
of the brush, if he would preach on 'Per- 
fect Love' ; and none can preach it better 
than he. And if these could not get me the 
blessing, I am sure Amanda Smith would 
pray me through." 

He started for Pitman Grove, secured 
quarters, and attended the afternoon meet- 
ings. To his surprise John S. Inskip 
preached on "The very God of Peace," etc. 
"Now," he thought, "all will be well." And 
the next great preacher was John A. Wood 



The Holy Spirit 65 

on "Perfect Love." But nothing happened. 
And then came the consecration meeting in 
the straw. There were scores of people who 
kneeled for salvation and sanctification, 
where the great woman of prayer, Amanda 
Smith, prayed, and many received what 
they were seeking for. But Wilbur Memin- 
ger did not and he afterwards said all he 
received "was straw." He went home with- 
out it. He read, he talked, he argued, he 
did everything he knew and finally decided 
all was vain. 

On a Saturday night, late after the ardu- 
ous toils of a week in a clothing store, he 
made his way to his home, where he pre- 
pared himself for the Sabbath, by bathing 
and clothing himself, the family having re- 
tired for the night. He decided at this 
time to settle this question and get more in 
love with Jesus. He intended spending the 
night in prayer and reading and then eat his 
breakfast and go to church. 

He kneeled with his Bible before him and 
then prayed for a pure heart. About five or 
ten minutes were spent in earnest prayer 
and all was over. The inbred sin had disap- 
peared, Christ had now come in and filled 
his heart. The question was settled and no 



66 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

more arguments were needed. It was not 
so much a mark of addition as it was a mark 
of subtraction. Indeed he said he had too 
much already. It was the subtraction of the 
roots of bitterness, the remains of the car- 
nal mind, the depraved nature, the self na- 
ture. Now there was plenty of room for 
the incoming of the Spirit, the Abiding One, 
the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, the Lord 
Himself. Before, the fighting Avas on the 
outside and inside also, now it was all from 
the outside. 

It was during this epoch in the life of 
M;r. Meminger that he was so successful as 
an evangelist, organizer and teacher. 



Chapter VII. 

"I BELIEVE IN THE FOURFOLD 
GOSPEL." 

IT was not long after this definite spiritual 
experience, recorded in the last chapter, 
that Wilbur Meminger was compelled to 
abandon his work as an evangelist on ac- 
count of a bad throat.. He could not speak 
above an ordinary tone, which rendered him 
useless as a public speaker. Medicinal sci- 
ence of all kinds and all newspaper schemes 
and patent medicines had been tried to get 
some relief; but his throat steadily grew 
worse and all hopes of ever being able again 
to speak in full round tones had vanished. 

In writing to Stephen Merritt upon some 
line of business, he received the answer, and 
after the name this added as a P.S., "I be- 
lieve in the Fourfold Gospel/' Immediate- 
ly Wilbur Meminger began to wonder what 
the Fourfold Gospel was and he asked his 
minister, who was perfectly ignorant of the 
whole affair. He next went to another 
brother minister, Rev. Mr. Moses. lie 
thought surely that Moses would know be- 



68 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

cause Moses was so meek and humble. It 
was his good fortune to know nothing about 
it. 

Next he went to another regular minister 
in the service and he told him, "It is the 
Christian and Missionary Alliance, a New 
York concern, with A. B. Simpson as the 
ring-leader. I don't know much about it, 
Wilbur, but it is bad." A few days later he 
saw a notice in a daily paper that a Chris- 
tian and Missionary Alliance meeting would 
be held in the Methodist Church in Altoona. 
He now thought that it could not be so very 
bad when they were going to hold it in our 
own Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Mr. Meminger and M ! r. Stewart decided 
to go to this meeting and learn what the 
Fourfold Gospel really was. They found 
here a meeting whose doctrine was in har- 
mony with the primitive teaching of Meth- 
odism, which they professed and taught. 

The profession and teaching of the doc- 
trine of Holiness by a group of members 
and workers in the Methodist Episcopal 
Church did not bring them in loving favor 
with the pastor and less zealous members of 
the church. They were not on the popular 
side. From time to time the privileges and 



Fourfold Gospel 69 

opportunities for prayer and testimony were 
curbed and it soon happened that very few 
were the openings to testify to the cleans- 
ing blood. 

This condition of affairs forced them to 
organize a prayer band that the exercise of 
prayer and testimony might be continued. 
At first it was thought to organize "The 
Central Pennsylvania Holiness Associa- 
tion" ; other things were proposed, but final- 
ly the Tyrone Auxiliary of the Christian 
and Missionary Alliance was organized as 
it was then an organized society, incorpora- 
ted and in good working order. The organ- 
ization had at first about 20 members, near- 
ly all of whom now have pased over the 
divide. 

Wilbur Mjeminger was elected President 
and continued in that office until he removed 
to Chicago. Many people were saved in the 
meetings, others received the Holy Spirit. 
The attendance was large at nearly all the 
meetings. 

In December, 1896, while on an evangel- 
istic tour, Wilbur M'eminger was burned 
out the second time by fire and the stock 
ruined by water. He has said himself that 
the Lord had burned him out twice and 



70 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

flooded him out twice, that He might use 
him in evangelistic work for the salvation 
of others. 

In 1897 M r - Meminger was called from 
the Tyrone work of the Christian and Mis- 
sionary Alliance to the larger field of Chi- 
cago and the Northwest. The following 
resolutions were passed by the Tyrone 
Branch of the Christian and Missionary Al- 
liance and the Tuesday evening class of the 
Old Methodist Church at the time of his de- 
parture for the Chicago work. 



CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ALLIANCE. 
Tyrone Branch. 

Tyrone, July 26, 1897. 

Whereas, Our President and Brother, W. F. 
Meminger, has been appointed to the office of Super- 
intendent of the Christian and Missionary Alliance 
for the West and Northwest, with headquarters at 
Chicago, and as he has already left for that field, 

Be it Resolved, That while his departure from 
among us will be a severe loss, on account of his 
manliness, purity and strength of character, developed 
in the years of his life with us in Christian love and 
fellowship, nevertheless we rejoice to know and feel 
that his new field of labor, with its enlarged op- 
portunities, will only call forth from him under the 
blessing of God that larger development of life and 



Fourfold Gospel 71 

character that only comes from a life yielded up to 
God for His service. 

Resolved, That while we shall miss his wise coun- 
sels, faithful admonitions and teachings in the deeper 
things of God, we will miss more than all else his 
manly Christian bearing, coupled with meekness, 
patience and humility which adorned his walk among 
us. Although separated by distance, we will ever 
have him on our hearts and follow him with our 
prayers in his new life of obedience and sacrifice, 
praying and expecting that he may realize the 
promise, 

"Lo, I am with you alway." 

Tyrone, Tuesday Evening, July 2j> 1897. 

Whereas, In the providence of an all-wise and 
loving God our heavenly Father, our dear Brother 
Meminger has been led of the Holy Spirit, we feel 
sure, to go out from amongst us to labor in a distant 
part of our Master's vineyard; 

Resolved, First, That we recall with great satis- 
faction the long and faithful service of our dear 
brother, first as class leader and then as President of 
our Christian Alliance. 

Resolved, Second, That it is with deep regret 
that we part with him and we to whom he has been 
peculiarly useful and helpful will follow him with 
tearful eyes and prayerful wishes that our dear Lord 
will go with him to his new field of labor, and may 
the moulding power of our dear brother's Godly life 
be felt by all who shall come in contact with his 
humble, teachable, Christ-like spirit. 

Resolved, Third, That while we sincerely mourn 



72 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

the severance of ties which bound us together as co- 
workers with Jesus Christ, we can praise God that 
while we will be made poorer by our loss of class 
leader and president, Chicago will be the richer. A 
great and good man has left home, wife and children 
and an aged mother, in Israel, and we whose hearts 
were knit to his as was David's to Jonathan and in 
loving obedience to the command, has left all to 
follow Jesus, to give out the Gospel of the Kingdom 
to others, we can but say, who shall or who can take 
his place? We ask who will take up the banner on 
which is inscribed, "Holiness unto the Lord," and 
stand in all the hard places our dear Brother Mem- 
inger did? Only the Master knows and can make 
us not only submissive to our loss, but glad that 
others shall have our good. 

No man ever exerted a wider or better influence 
in our little city and no man was more highly es- 
teemed or more tenderly loved, and why should he 
not be? To very many his life and labors have 
proved under God an unspeakable blessing. 

Resolved, That we do congratulate our brethren 
and friends of the Christian and Missionary Alliance 
in Chicago, as we recall the faithful and efficient life 
of our brother. That what is loss to us, will be gain 
for them, and do commend him to you in the 
efforts that will be put forth by him for the evan- 
gelization of the world and to hasten the speedy 
coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to the 
end that he may have your confidence and prayers 
and the help and indwelling of the Holy Spirit as he 
seeks to win the dead to life, to relieve and comfort 
the sorrowing and distressed, and to help the suffer- 
ing ones by pointing them to Jesus, who, with His 



Fourfold Gospel 73 

own touch, can impart His own life and strength to 
the body, also in helping believers to a higher and 
fuller life in God, the life of Jesus Christ Himself. 
Also that we further recognize that in the making of 
this appointment by those in authority, a wise choice 
has been made, and that in it all we see the Bkssed 
leading of the Holy Spirit; besides we feel that one 
has been called from our midst who, with his Spirit- 
filled life, will be found faithful and true to the trust 
reposed in him. 

Signed, Committee, 

Mrs. Eliz. Briggs, 
Mrs. R. M. Watson, 
H. L. Africa, 

Extract of the minutes of meeting. 

D. F. Walker, Vice-President. 

Jesse S. Stewart, Secretary. 
May the blessed abiding Comforter go with him 
in all his work and use him wonderfully, to the hast- 
ening of the coming and kingdom of our blessed 
Lord. 

Yours in the blessed hope, 

Tuesday Night Class. 

Action was taken on these resolutions at the 
regular meeting on Tuesday evening, July 27, 1897, 
and unanimously adopted by a standing vote. 

H. L. Africa, Secretary. 



Chapter VIII. 
GOD HEALS. 

''Once it was the blessing, 

Now it is the Lord; 
Once it was the feeling, 

Now it is His Word; 
Once His gift I wanted, 

Xow, the Giver own; 
Once I sought for healing, 

Xow Himself alone. 

"All in all forever, 

Jesus will I sing; 
Everything in Jesus, 

And Jesus everything." 

WHEX a boy Wilbur Meminger had 
diphtheria. His throat was burned 
with caustic, which so hurt his 
throat and lungs that later he was unable 
to use his voice in public speaking and suf- 
fered also from lung trouble. He went to 
Philadelphia to consult a good physician, 
and by him was advised to put his affairs in 
order as he had about six weeks to live. 
"You cannot live and you might as well 
know it. If you are going home, do not go 



God Heals 75 

at night. You are apt to take cold and die 
suddenly." 

This was just about the time when he 
first heard of the "Fourfold Gospel." Know- 
ing that the Christian and Missionary Alli- 
ance was to hold an all-day meeting at Al- 
toona he decided to attend to hear about this 
healing which they taught. Hardly able 
to get to the station, he started out. He at- 
tended the meeting, but nothing was said 
about Divine Healing until a little woman 
in the corner rose and said to the leader, 
"Brother, you haven't had any testimonies." 
"That is so," said M'r. Senft, "let us have a 
few." And the message to the sick man 
came from the little woman who asked for 
testimonies. In her own testimony she 
spoke of "Divine Healing, and all the way 
home the words rang in Mr. Meminger's 
ears, "Divine healing. Divine healing." 
Reaching home he took his Bible and 
iched it to find whether these things 
were so, and he found "Divine Healing" 
written large and clear in many places. He 
also read James \. [4, and wondered where 

he could get an elder to anoint him. lie 

later learned that Mr. Senft was to be at 
Altoona and again he took the jotirne} 



76 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

Altoona. He met Mr. Senft at the station. 
Mr. Senft had already purchased his ticket 
to return to another town, but he changed 
his mind, deciding to wait a little. Mr. 
Meminger felt it was God's arrangement for 
him in Mr, Senft's change of mind; and go- 
ing up to the house where the meetings were 
held he was anointed. In referring to it 
later Mr. Meminger said, "I just drew a long 
breath and was healed." 

He returned home, his wife meeting him 
at the door. He said, "Wife, it is all right ; 
I am healed." His wife saw only a red 
flush on his face and expected a fit of 
coughing. They had family prayers and 
retired. Immediately the devil was on the 
scene in various ways, trying to make Mr. 
Meminger doubt the Lord and H'is healing. 
He arose and settled the controversy on his 
knees and once again went to bed and slept. 
He awakened at about twelve o'clock, only 
to find his wife crying. "What is the mat- 
ter?" he asked. "Now that I am healed is it 
going to come on you? Are you sick?" 

But she was crying for joy as she realized 
as he slept so well that he was truly healed. 
After his healing his voice returned to him, 



God Heals yy 

and his voice could be heard above anything 
he had experienced before. 

During all the previous experiences of 
Mr. Mieminger, in his class meetings, evan- 
gelistic meetings and revivals in the church 
of which he was a member, he was never 
known to sing. Some time after he was 
healed he received the fulness of Jesus into 
his body and he began to sing. At first it 
was not so loud, but increased in tone and 
volume, until he could lead in singing and 
roll out the praises of God in song as he was 
wont to do in prayer and preaching. It 
seemed a great relief when he could give 
vent to melody in this way. In many places 
afterward he was obliged to do all the sing- 
ing as well as all the praying and preaching. 

And his teaching and testimony on this 
line gave forth no uncertain sound. "God 
Heals" was a favorite theme with him. At 
one of the New York conventions of the 
Christian and Missionary Alliance a very 
condensed report was taken of one of his 
addresses on this subject, and is worthy of 
reproduction : 

"Our desire to be healed should be for 
service for God and to glorify H'im in our 



78 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

bodies, and if we are right with God along 
other lines we shall have very little trouble 
along this line. Some cannot understand it, 
and are not able to see it until they are 
anointed every time a new man comes into 
the neighborhood. No man ever healed any- 
body on the face of the earth. God heals, 
no matter to whom you attribute it. God 
heals no matter to whom you give the cred- 
it. God heals because He said so, and I be- 
lieve Him. Do you? 'I am the Lord that 
healeth thee.' Glory to His precious name! 
"Oh, how we need the Holy Spirit along 
these lines to keep us safe ! He is a remark- 
able Teacher, and it is His business to make 
these things plain. There are a lot of talks 
on divine healing that I do not understand, 
and there is a great deal of lofty teaching 
that I do not understand, but I understand 
this, 'Christ liveth in me.' That is the great- 
est, most stupendous of all things, and the 
Holy Spirit had to wake me up one night to 
teach it to me. Oh, we must know the Holy 
Spirit, that He may show us all these things 
and make them simple. Salvation is very 
plain, sanctification is very plain, divine 
healing is very plain. The Word tells us of 
the whole plan of salvation from beginning 



God Heals 79 

to end, that the wayfaring man need not err 
therein. How much worse off are you than 
the hobo, that you cannot understand it? 
The hobo, the fellow that sleeps under the 
hay stack and gets his meals very irregular- 
ly, and wears old clothes, why he can under- 
stand all about it. What is the matter with 
us then? We are not given up to God. We 
say we are. We have been to the altar and 
confessed that we are sanctified. We testi- 
fy that we are filled with the Holy Ghost. 
We testify about all these things, but we 
must have the Holy Spirit to teach us these 
things or we are all wrong. 

"Oh, what we want is confession as to 
our real condition before God. The man or 
woman that is right before God just believes 
because he cannot help it. 

"I am so glad that when I was way down 
with disease, and had physicians — the $2.00 
kind that you pay for — and was so tired of 
everything on that line, that the dear Lord 
spoke to me in much simplicity, and the 
precious Word of God was backed up by the 
Holy Spirit — and that was the way that I 
was led. I know now that Christ liveth in 
me, and the Holy Spirit displaces disease 
with the resurrected life of Jesus. 



80 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

"I am so glad this thing is so plain. No- 
body need be turned away on account of not 
understanding it. We don't have to under- 
stand the Greek version to get there. I 
pray you this morning let the Holy Spirit 
search you. Please do not turn your heart 
over and turn it inside out any more to look 
at it yourself. "The heart is deceitful above 
all things and desperately wicked." 

"I remember a lady over on the west side 
of Chicago some time ago who was ill. She 
had been anointed several times but not 
healed. And they wanted us to go over there 
and pray with her and anoint her. They 
said, 'She is a good woman, and if the Lord 
heals anybody He will heal her.' And I 
said, 'He will not heal her for that.' 'But 
she is a good woman, a worker in the Sun- 
day school,' etc. So we went over to see 
her. And I had a very pleasant conversa- 
tion with her, but found she was not ready 
to be healed. So I had prayer with her and 
gave her some passages of Scripture and 
left her; and in a few days we went over 
again to see her and got all ready to anoint 
her. But I could not anoint her, I could 
not. I said, 'We will have to have another 
prayer before we can go on with this/ and 



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God Heals 81 

down I went on my knees and prayed for 
myself, and I do not know that I ever agon- 
ized more in prayer than I did that time. 
I forgot everybody that was in the room 
and even the sick woman that we had come 
to anoint. Nobody knew what was the mat- 
ter with Brother Meminger, until after a 
while this sister, this great teacher, cried 
out, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.' She 
was not saved before, but now she was 
ready to be anointed. Oh, the Lord help us 
to realize something of the wiles of the ad- 
versary, our God wants us to be fully saved. 
God wants us healed. He does want us to 
be free, indeed. " 

The Rev. Mr. W. Mbyser, of India, re- 
lates the following incident which occurred 
on Mr. Meminger's first trip to the Pacific 
Coast in 1900. Mrs. Moyser had then just 
returned to this country after nearly eight 
years of service on the field. She had 
worked hard in the schools and gone 
through famines, and it seemed as if her 
blood was poisoned with washing and car- 
ing for so many stricken ones who were lit- 
erally covered with sores during the trying 
days of famine. Her face was covered with 
large boils. Her whole system was entirely 



82 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

run down and she was on the verge of nerv- 
ous prostration and weighed only 95 pounds. 
"She had preceded me," said Mr. M'oyser, 
"to the homeland and was staying with Mrs. 
E. J. Scudder in Santa Barbara. The mid- 
winter Alliance Convention was being held 
in Los Angeles w r here Mrs. Moyser was to 
have spoken. She went to Los Angeles ; but 
was so weak, discouraged and broken down 
that she could not leave her room or her 
bed. Mrs. Scudder, a woman of prayer, 
called in Rev. W. C. Stevens, now of Nyack, 
and Mr. M-eminger to pray for Mrs. Moyser. 
Mr. Meminger in his prayer asked and 
claimed 'a blanket healing,' a healing that 
w r ould cover everything, and somehow that 
unique expression, 'blanket healing,' re- 
vived Mrs. Mloyser's faith and the Lord 
healed her completely. She arose at once and 
spoke in the meeting. From that time she 
was no longer troubled on these lines and 
she now weighs 150 pounds." 

A friend in whose home he stayed when 
last out on the Coast writes : 

"I cannot yet bring myself to the full real- 
ization that our dearly loved Brother Mem- 
inger has really passed beyond. How clear- 
ly some of those Spirit-filled messages he 



God Heals 83 

gave while here stand out in my memory, 
never, never to be forgotten. 

"His portrayal of the devil with his 
numerous disguises, how when he is recog- 
nized in one disguise how quickly he van- 
ishes only to appear shortly in some other, 
and how untiring he is in this mode of de- 
ceiving, has been more help to me than 
anything else of all his good messages. It 
has been a daily help to me for a whole year 
and the Lord has put in my heart to pass it 
on where it has again proved a blessing. 

"I have so many beautiful things to re- 
member about him. The way he talked with 
God when my cousins were almost gone 
with scarlet fever. No hope at all the doc- 
tors said. Dear Brother M'eminger pleaded 
for their lives to be spared as earnestly as 
if they had been his own children, and how 
thankful he was when they were raised up." 

The night before Mr. M.eminger was 
called home, he and his wife spent several 
hours until one in the morning praying for 
deliverance for one, a guest in the Mission- 
ary Home, New York, who was attending 
the convention and who had been taken 
seriously ill. 

Still later on the same day, and only about 
four hours before his decease, he prayed 



84 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

with another who writes of that visit and 
prayer. 

"What a mighty prayer went up to the 
throne of God as he placed his hand on my 
head . We seemed almost in the actual pres- 
ence of Jesus, the Mighty to save and heal. 
The wires were surely all connected ; the 
answer came in a current of life from on 
high, and I have been well ever since. All 
praise to God for His healing power and 
for His great goodness and love in allowing 
me this great and precious privilege. 

"This was about 4 o'clock P.M. on the 
day he was received into the presence of his 
Lord. God has taken one of these dear 
friends, but the sweet influence of their 
prayers will go with me always, as I labor 
on for the Master and realize day by day 
the answer to this parting prayer and bless- 
ing in my life and the work God has placed 
me in. 

"His parting word as he passed out our 
door, never to speak with us again in this 
life, was : Til remember you/ What a 
blessed thought that in glory our dear 
Brother M^minger is still praying and 
speaking to the Master of the needs of those 
who are left. 

"Nellie A. Cook." 



Chapter IX. 
INSPIRED PETITIONS. 

WILBUR MEMINGER was notably a 
man of prayer. Nothing was too 
small to take to the Lord, and when 
he did he always expected the answer. 

He approached the throne of grace with 
confidence, believing the things he asked for 
were to be handed out to him and his sup- 
porters. 

One day in a Western town he was im- 
pressed to call upon a Christian brother. 
He came upon him unexpectedly and found 
him with his head on his desk crying. 

"What is the matter ?" he asked, and the 
reply was, "Oh, Brother Meminger, I am 
going to lose all I have and bring discredit 
upon the cause of Christ. " 

His factory was about to be sold through 
a forced sale, and there seemed to be no 
help for it. 

"Have you taken it to the Lord?" 

"Do you think this is worth telling the 
Lord about?" 

"Certainly/' replied Mr. MDeminger, and 



86 u The Little Man from Chicago " 

calling his friend's wife, she spread papers 
out on the floor and they knelt down and 
together prayed. First the owner of the 
factory prayed and broke down, then the 
wife prayed and broke down, then M'r. Mem- 
inger prayed and broke down ; but they 
arose in victory. They parted and this 
brother and his wife lay down that night to 
peaceful slumber. 

In another town some miles distant there 
was a lawyer who had no connection what- 
ever with the matter of selling this factory. 
He was awakened that night and could not 
get rid of the impression that he should 
buy the factory which was for sale. He 
felt that there was something crooked about 
the transaction which he did not understand 
and he told his wife about it. She advised 
him to go to sleep and mind his own busi- 
ness, saying that he had not been called to 
take up the case, and, therefore, it might ap- 
pear as interference ; but he was so strong- 
ly impressed to look into the matter that 
the following morning he went straight to 
the city where the factory was located. A 
Mr. B who had it in his mind to purchase 
the factory, was under the impression that 
the sale was to take place in the afternoon. 



Inspired Petitions 87 

This was a misunderstanding as the sale 
took place in the morning. Mr. B. there- 
fore, was not present when the sale was con- 
ducted, but the lawyer was, and he pur- 
chased the factory. He then sent immediate 
word to the original proprietor telling him 
that he had purchased the factory and thus 
saved him from discredit. 

One in writing of Wilbur Mieminger's 
confidence in God, says : 

"Often I have seen him pray when the 
heavens seemed as brass and faith was far 
from any of us; when the ranks of the evil 
one seemed impregnable; again and again 
the attacks seemed to be driven back with- 
out any success. At these times he seemed 
to realize that one could chase a thousand 
and two put ten thousand to flight, and he 
would then deliberately and calmly plead 
the precious blood as our only salvation. 
Then by faith he gave that great and grand 
'Hallelujah! Glory to GodF like a thunder 
bolt out of a clear sky, and with a shout of 
victory he cut his way through the ranks 
of the enemy and flanked them on the right 
and on the left until victory was seen oil all 
sides. 

"I have seen him called upon to pray 



88 * The Little Man from Chicago " 

when there was seeming defeat in a revival 
meeting and after such a prayer I have seen 
men and women rush to the altar in large 
numbers. 

"Lord, teach us how to pray!" 

One of his favorite themes was "Inspired 
Petitions. " He believed that prayer should 
be indited by the Holy Ghost. The follow- 
ing is one of his characteristic addresses on 
the subject, "Praying in the Holy Ghost. " 

"That we do much praying not in the 
Holy Ghost, needs only to be stated. We 
do not know Him as we might; are not 
yielded fully as we ought to be, and do not 
pray in Him, or He does not pray in us ; 
does not indite the prayer. We make most 
of our prayers, and what prayers we do 
make ! We adopt the language of others — 
imitation prayers, cut and dried prayers, 
made so by frequent use. Threadbare pray- 
ers, every member of the family, familiar 
with the morning prayer, a cut and dried 
prayer for the Sunday school — many of the 
scholars familiar with it, know what will 
come when you begin. Long drawn out 
prayers, no end while memory continues to 
suggest ; a sense of relief comes to our hear- 
ers that nothing broke, that we got safely 



Inspired Petitions 89 

through, clear through to the end. Then 
there is the regular prayer for Wednesday 
night prayer meeting. My growth in grace 
was greatly hindered by hearing some cut 
and dried prayers week after week. When 
our Pastor would call on Bro. A. to pray I 
knew just what he would say, or if he called 
on Sister B. I very soon knew them by 
heart, nearly all of them. My head would 
drop as I wondered how — those whose feet 
had taken fast hold upon destruction, and 
the Lord in mercy had turned them clear 
around, and started them toward the Celes- 
tial City: whose feet had been digged from 
the miry clay, out of a horrible pit, and 
placed upon the Solid Rock, and a new 
song put in their mouth — I did wish He 
would put a new prayer in their hearts, 
even in their mouths — could pray as they 
did. 

"Listen to some of these prayers. Let us 
select the last Wednesday night in July or 
the first Wednesday night in August. 
"the heated term. 

"The church is more than 50 years old, 
and never had a revival in the summer. Lis- 
ten; Bro. A is called on. 'O Lord, revive 
Thy work!' — Surely needed so we all saj 



90 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

Amen ! 'Grant that every house in this city 
shall become a house of prayer.' Sweeping 
— revival sure. He continues: 'Grant that 
every heart in this city shall be made a fit 
temple for Thy Holy Spirit.' Still on he 
goes, 'Grant that sinners shall flock to our 
altars, as the dove to the window of the 
ark.' Reference made here to the dove that 
Noah released from the ark, before the wa- 
ters of the Flood had dried up, and finding 
no place to rest its feet upon, was compelled 
to return to the ark. A deluge of salvation, 
to sweep everything and everybody before 
it : appeared to be the prayer. Amen ! is 
reached at last. Now what? We all arose 
from our knees — the long meter doxology 
was sung — benediction pronounced — all re- 
turned to our homes. Revival? No. Sin- 
ners at the altar? No, no, it is the heated 
term. No revival expected before the first 
of January, and not at all sure about it then. 
Oh, think of it! And he was talking to 
God. Flow of thought, clothed with choic- 
est language, offered in well rounded peri- 
ods, may not be 

"rRAYING IN THE HOLY GHOST. 

"Up in the State of Maine, not many 



Inspired Petitions 91 

miles from Old Orchard, lived a man who 
had purchased a farm not the most fertile, 
so that, to improve the farm and raise the 
family, compelled them to practice the most 
rigid economy. The father had been a 
Christian for many years. Family prayer 
every morning, but oh, such a dry old 
prayer; same one every morning. Family 
had grown up, but were not saved. The 
father had grown hard, always a storm 
when money was paid out. The father at- 
tended the Alliance convention at Old Or- 
chard and came under conviction, realized 
his need of the Holy Ghost, got down in 
the straw — and received the Hioly Ghost — 
returned to his home, and the very first 
morning, at family worship, all noticed 
father had a new prayer. The girls nudged 
each other, and said, "Listen !" And all did 
listen. The father was praying in the Holy 
Ghost. 

"Not long after this Old Folk's Day came. 
Their house was full of guests for dinner. 
The old chinaware, 150 years old, was in 
use, and greatly admired of all. After din- 
ner, one of the daughters dropped the prin- 
cipal dish of the set and broke it all to 
pieces, too bad to be mended. She was in a 



92 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

fright ; mother would be grieved, but father 
would storm. What to do she did not know. 
Confession must be made with trembling 
heart. She met her father on the cellar 
steps, with a bag of potatoes on his shoul- 
der. This she thought was a favorable mo- 
ment. She quickly made her confession, and 
waited for the storm to break. He said, 
'Your mother will be grieved beyond meas- 
ure.' Then with his left hand he brushed 
the hair back from her braid, and said, 'But 
you are a dear good girl. You would not do 
it, if you could help it, I know.' Away she 
ran and with a gladdened heart called the 
other girls and told them all, what father 
had said and done, and they all concluded 
that 

"father will not live long. 

"What a different state of affairs now — 
the morning worship a time of refreshing — 
within a few months every member of that 
family saved — the morning prayer, the fam- 
ily altar will never be forgotten by the chil- 
dren. 

"Major B., of Cleveland, received a letter 
from India from one of our most devoted 
missionaries, asking special prayer for a 



Inspired Petitions 93 

class of girls, under the care of this sister — 
an urgent request. He had prayed for them 
before, but none of them were saved. One 
day he left his work, hid away and prayed. 
The missionary had taught the lesson — was 
about to dismiss the class again without any 
sign of improvement. One of the girls burst 
into tears, lay her head on the shoulder of 
the missionary and asked for prayer; then 
another, and another until the class were all 
saved but one — they prayed in the Holy 
Ghost. 

"While holding a local convention in 
northern Wisconsin, I noticed a fine look- 
ing old gentleman at each session would 
take his seat just inside the door. He paid 
close attention to all that was said and done ; 
but never raised his hand for prayer for self 
or others. I tried to speak to him at the 
close of service, but he would leave before 
I reached the door. The last night had 
come. Theme of the evening, getting right 
with God ourselves, that He might work 
with us, and pray through us, that our kith 
and kin might be saved. The interest the 
Lord has in the whole family was dwelt 
upon — and at the altar and in the pew differ- 
ences were fixed up, quarrels were settled. 



94 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

The Lord put His seal of approval upon the 
truth. Some were saved, quite a number 
were sanctified, sealed. But the old gentle- 
man with snow white hair and whiskers 
would not come near. 

"Convention closed, nearly all had gone 
home. The old gentleman came up the aisle 
to me, and said, "Do you say if I get right 
with God, he will save my son, who is a 
drunkard, who broke his mother's heart, 
and sent her to the grave 15 years before 
her time; who is now a fugitive from jus- 
tice — I know not where he is? I replied, 
The Lord sent us word by way of the jail 
at Philippi — 'Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy 
house.' The old gentleman stated his case 
again. I asked him, Have you done all you 
can for your son? Mention was made of 
sacrifice made — homestead mortgaged to 
make good some of his crooked w r ork, etc. 
I said, 'Have you forgiven him?' 'No, I 
cannot forgive him — my heart has turned to 
stone.' But I said, 'We pray, Forgive us 
our trespasses as we forgive those who tres- 
pass against us. You cannot pray in the 
Holy Ghost unless you do forgive him ; if 
you will ask the Lord to help you to for- 



Inspired Petitions 95 

give him, we will all kneel down with you, 
and join you in the prayer. Down we went, 
we put our arms around him, and he be- 
gan — it was hard work — he began some old 
prayer, but broke down, raised his head and 
while trembling with emotion said, 'O God, 
forgive me for not forgiving my son.' In 
an instant relief came. His face brightened, 
a new, strange light shone from his eyes, 
and as we arose from our knees he said, 
'Whether my son is saved or not I do not 
know, but something tremendous has taken 
place.' We all said Amen — loud. 

"Six months or less after this, I returned, 
on a cold day in early winter. A few snow 
flakes were in the air. At the station I was 
met by an old friend who called me Brother 
Mieminger now, instead of Mr. Said I was 
to be his guest. We had scarcely left the 
platform when he began talking about his 
son. Informed me that he was saved, and 
drawing a letter from his pocket, gave it 
to me to read. As it was quite cold I was 
about to put it in my pocket intending to 
read it when we reached the house, but no, 
he said, 'You have a share in it, and must 
read it now/ I opened the letter and began 
to read. Mailed in Texas. 'Dear father and 



96 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

mother — (he did not know his mother was 
dead, or that he had broken her heart) I 
know you will not believe what I am writ- 
ing, but it is as true as preaching. God 
for Christ's sake has forgiven all my sins/ 
We were both in tears by this time. The 
people looked at us, reading a letter in the 
cold, and tears filling our eyes. I suppose 
they thought, there goes a pair of fools ; but 
what did we care what they thought. We 
were in the heavenlies with Jesus. 

"The letter said: 'A straggling evangel- 
ist came to town but was unable to secure 
the church for services, so he preached on 
the streets. We could not help noticing his 
earnestness. (Dear reader, has any one no- 
ticed your earnestness in the Master's work? 
Or are you floating along, "calm and serene 
as a midsummer night's dream"?) At last 
he secured a room over the saloon where we 
drank and gambled. One night me and four 
of my Buttes, were lined up at the bar tak- 
ing our whiskey straight, when we heard 
them singing, 

" ' "Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee/' 

" 'We thought of home, and the good old 



Inspired Petitions 97 

days, my heart became tender, and I said, 
"Boys, by the help of God I'll never drink 
another drop." They said, "We are with 
you." We poured our whiskey on the floor. 
We climbed the steps to the meeting room, 
heard the message, gave up our life of sin, 
and by His grace will serve Him all our 
days.' 

"That son has visited his aged father 
since, and although the marks of his sinful 
life may still be read in his face, when he 
confesses Christ in song or testimony, his 
face brightens with light all divine. He is 
preparing for a life of usefulness, as a har- 
vest hand — the balance of his days. 

"Fathers ! mothers ! forgive, forgive your 
wayward sons and daughters, and 'be filled 
with the Spirit.' 

" 'Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our in- 
firmities; for we know not what we should 
pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Him- 
self maketh intercession for us with groan- 
ings which cannot be uttered.' 

" 'And He that searcheth the hearts know- 
eth what is the mind of Spirit, because He 
maketh intercession for the saints, accord- 
ing to the will of God' (Rom. viii. 26, 27). 

"Prayer in the Holy Spirit is not dry, 



98 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

hard, set, long, tedious or wearisome; but is 
fresh, crisp, refreshing and inspiring. Like 
the mountain spring bursting out between 
the rock ribs into the sunlight, leaping down 
the mountain side, refreshing the flowers, 
moistening the roots of the giant oaks, 
quenching the thirst of the woodman, giving 
the mill wheels of commerce power — now a 
river into which comes the drainage of a 
hundred cities — sin, sickness, sorrow, etc., 
borne afar into the salt ocean of God is 
Love. 

"Oh, for united prayer that we be brought 
quickly into the relationship with God, and 
man, when we will pray in the Holy Ghost !" 



Chapter X. 
THE LORD'S COMING. 

"He is not a disappointment! 

He is coming by and by, 
In my heart I have the witness 

That His coming draweth nigh; 
All the scoffers may despise me, 

And no change around may see; 
But He tells me He is coming, 

And that's quite enough for me." 

ANOTHER truth which was especially 
dear to his heart and which affected 
all his service for God was the truth 
of the pre-millennial coming of the Lord 
Jesus. He was very fond of telling of a 
woman of his acquaintance who refused to 
believe in the pre-millennial coming of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. But one day she sent 
for him and related this dream she had had. 
It was in the city of Chicago. She went out 
to do her marketing one Saturday morning 
and on the way she noted that everyone was 
going in one direction. She could not un- 
derstand this and asked one and another 
why were the people going East. The only 
reply she got was, "Why, don't you know ?" 



ioo " The Little Man from Chicago " 

But they would pass on without telling her. 
Then she noticed the people were running 
to the East and she dropped her own bun- 
dles and ran with them. She reached the 
lake shore, but could hardly get through 
the crowd. She saw beautiful clouds with 
all the tints of the rainbow. From beneath 
these clouds came a pair of beautiful hands, 
whose they were she did not know. The 
people all seemed to have packages which 
they were placing into these beautiful 
hands. The packages would disappear and 
the people would follow into the clouds. 
She noticed a poor washerwoman come with 
her bundles carried in her apron. How she 
longed to go into these clouds although she 
couldn't understand them. Turning to a 
policeman she asked what it was all about. 
"Won't you please explain it to me?" 
"Why, don't you know? Jesus has come." 
"What are those people doing?" 
"They are handing Him their bundles and 
going in with Him to live there." And she 
wanted still more to go; but the policeman 
asked her, "Where are your bundles?" and 
she had to reply that she had none. 

"What have you been doing all these 
years about this work?" 



The Lord's Coming 101 

"Attending church, teaching Sunday 
school and trying to do some good," was the 
reply. 

"Have you won any souls, have you done 
any missionary work?" And sadly she had 
to reply, "No." 

"Well," he said, "you come this way. 
Jesus is receiving His friends to-day, to- 
morrow He receives His servants." 

She awakened from the dream to believe 
in the near coming of Christ, and to Mr. 
Meminger's great joy, as well as that of her 
Lord, this woman became an earnest Chris- 
tian, and is to-day laboring in Chicago win- 
ning her jewels for Christ. 

The following characteristic address was 
given by him at an Alliance Convention sev- 
eral years ago. 

"Jesus is coming! He promised if He 
went away He would return. He has gone, 
and there can be no doubt but that He will 
come back. Now I am sorry to be obliged 
to say that I know some persons who have, 
as they think, received the Holy Spirit to 
criticise and cut to pieces their brethren 
who believe in the Lord's coming again. 
How wrong is this spirit ! Rather, we should 



102 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

be kindly affectioned one toward another. 
But I am to speak to-night on our Lord's 
second advent and readiness for HHs appear- 
ing. A preparation is needed to meet Jesus 
in peace and gladness. Let us have that 
coming again not merely as intellectual 
knowledge, but as part of ourselves. 

"Jesus is coming — do you believe it? The 
first people I knew who came to me speak- 
ing of the Lord's coming I could not admire ; 
they repelled me from the truth. They were 
full of untempered zeal. They had not the 
Holy Ghost. And so they killed their testi- 
mony with their lives. Let us be careful we 
do not hinder the spread of truth by our 
manner of living. I was prejudiced by them. 
We should so speak the truth as to melt one 
another down into love. Kindness and pray- 
er should ever prevail. 

"Then I became acquainted with some 
date-setters; and they did not help me re- 
ceive the Lord's coming. The year they 
named for this mighty event went by and 
Jesus did not come. That further stumbled 
me. The Holy Ghost, the Executive of the 
Godhead, arranges the schedule of time ; we 
can no more do it than the ordinary citizen 
can arrange the train time-table. Confusion 



The Lord's Coming 103 

and smash-up would result from our running 
the trains. The railway official, the executive 
of the line, makes up the running schedule. 
The greatest matter of all is readiness for 
the event when it shall come off. Are you 
ready? Are you ready? A person not 
ready for Christ's return is not ready to live 
or die. 

" 'Do not make it too soon/ some say, 
'there is a great deal to be done; much to 
be fixed up; many things to be arranged/ 
They feel themselves held in captivity, and 
they do not want the Lord to come and find 
them in their present condition. They want 
time, more time, to free themselves. Hear 
them, as they say: 'O wretched man that 
I am ! who shall deliver me from this body 
of death.' Beloved! get out of the seventh 
chapter of Romans. How get. out? Fall 
out. Where fall? Into the eighth chapter. 
What does that say? 'Now* — not in the res- 
urrection, nor on the golden streets inside 
the pearly gates — 'no condemnation !' Who 
wants to continue a 'wretched' man, when 
he can be free? I do not want to live with 
wretched men except just long enough to 
pray for them. 

" 'No condemnation !' — not an entry 



104 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

against us. Nothing charged to our name. 
God help us to get something 'now' ; to be 
undergirded with His strength and overflow- 
ing with the Spirit. Swing out! Oh, our 
happiness is complete with not a charge pre- 
ferred ! Hallelujah! Rejoice, because it is 
all fixed up. Jesus did it on Calvary by His 
precious blood! Man can put color into 
glass that will neutralize color in an outside 
object. So, looked at by God through the 
blood of Christ, though our sins have been 
like scarlet, yet repenting and believing on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, we are seen as white! 

"Now for the credit side. 'Beloved! now 
are we the sons of God.' When? Now! 
You would scarcely believe it to look at 
some people who pass as Christians. So 
miserable! Hark to their lamentations! Oh, 
get filled and thrilled now with the mighty 
redemption! May the Holy Ghost burn it 
into us xow! Tell the people they may be- 
come free through faith. Cleansed and filled 
with the Holy Spirit makes one ready for 
the Lord's return. Preaching to the perish- 
ing, saving the hopeless, is a heaven for 
xow. 

" 'We know' — God has it so that we KNOW 
— 'that when Chris* shall appear we shall 






The Lord's Coming 105 

be like Him.' Really, I cannot understand 
why those who love Jesus are not interested 
in His return, when it is promised that at 
His return we shall be made like Him. If 
relatives took no interest in knowing of our 
coming, and failed to be at the depot to meet 
us when we arrived from a distance, we 
should not regard them as very warm 
friends. Well, when Jesus comes, we shall 
be like H|im. And more than that, we shall 
have a crown — 'a crown of righteousness, 
which the Lord the righteous Judge shall 
give unto us at that day.' 

"But there is another side to this subject, 
the sinner's side. When Jesus comes to 
the world, it will be to its judgment. And 
'as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be 
at the coming of the Son of man. They ate, 
they drank, they married and gave in mar- 
riage, and knew not until the flood came and 
took them all away.' Thus will it be with 
the impenitent when Jesus returns. The 
flood got here on time — in just a hundred 
and twenty years from the time it was 
threatened. So will Jesus come on time; 
and the signs show that the time is nearly 
full. 

"Brethren in Christ, let us, like the de- 



io6 * The Little Man from Chicago " 

tective, locate men, run them down, appre- 
hend them for Jesus. Sent by the Holy 
Ghost will we not drag them out of sin, 
wash them up, and presently have a banquet 
in the air, with Jesus — all royal, His breth- 
ren? 

"Oh, I am delighting in the thought of 
Jesus' coming and the blessings He will 
bring us ! I am just revelling in it ! There 
is royalty in every one of us who has been 
born of God, and the day of the second ad- 
vent is the period of its manifestation. 

"Are you ready? Get right with God and 
man this night. What do you care for man's 
opinions and remarks about you? A prince 
is not disturbed by the criticisms and sneers 
of the common man. He knows, with his 
spending alone, he could buy the whole out- 
fit of the critic. To be ready, ready for the 
Bridegroom at His appearing is the supreme 
concern and work of this dying age." 



Chapter XI. 
MISSIONS. 

FROM the time of his conversion Wilbur 
Meminger became interested in foreign 
missions. He was a close reader of 
Bishop Taylor's works on street preaching 
and self-supporting missions in India and 
Africa, and of sketches of his work in papers 
published for that purpose. With his sympa- 
thy aroused in foreign mission work he nat- 
urally desired to help, and he began to look 
for a source from which to get funds to help 
the good work along. He decided to inter- 
est the members of his Tuesday evening 
class. His first mission box was a small 
pasteboard collar box from his store which 
he sealed, and every Tuesday night he 
would carry this little box under his arm 
to the class and place it upon the table. The 
responses were immediate, although it was 
designed for free-will offerings from any 
who desired to help Mr. Taylor in his far 
off missions. It was not long, however, un- 
til regular contributions found their way 
into the little box, which was opened every 



108 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

three months and the money forwarded to 
Bishop Taylor. Hundreds of dollars soon 
found their way into the good work. No 
class closed without the admonition from 
Mr. Meminger, "Don't forget Bishop Tay- 
lor's little box." 

This homely box was later displaced by 
a wooden box with a lock and key, which 
was used until Mr. Meminger resigned as 
leader to take up the active work of the 
Christian and Missionary Alliance in 
Chicago. 

As Superintendent of the Tyrone Branch 
of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, 
the subject of missions was ever kept be- 
fore the meeting and the members soon felt 
it a grand privilege to give to this cause. 
Subscriptions were taken from time to time 
for home and foreign missions, from $110 
for the first year until it increased to $550 
for one year. Conventions were held from 
time to time in the various churches, which 
added greatly to the attendance and collec- 
tions for missions. 

In his wider field work be hecame better 
acquainted with many of the missionaries, 
and how he loved them ! He used to say, 
"I would take off my hat to a missionary 



Missions 109 

any time/' and "I would ask no greater glory 
than to be found on the mission field when 
the Lord comes." It was a joy to him and 
his wife when their youngest son offered 
himself for the foreign field, and when he 
was suddenly, in an accident, taken away 
by death, while earning the money which 
was to give him his training, they immedi- 
ately planned to take another missionary in 
his memory and support him. This, how- 
ever, was not settled and their offerings 
were given instead into the general fund 
without any stipulation, to be used as the 
Board deemed best. 

Uuring Mr. Mieminger's latest trips it 
twice fell to him to hold memorial services 
in the home cities of two of the missionaries 
who had died on the field. Hie was touring 
Ohio when word came from the Tibetan 
Border that Miss Effie Gregg had been 
called home. He had known her well as 
had also Rev. James H. Kirk and family. 
The memorial service was held on a Sab- 
bath afternoon when Mr. and Mrs. Kirk 
with trembling lips spoke of her pure life 
and the blessing she had been to them. Mr. 
Meminger, who considered it a high honor 
to be called home from the mission field, 



1 10 " The Little Man from Chicago n 

spoke of her as "early crowned." TlTere 
was scarcely a dry eye in the place. Need- 
less to say he saw an opportunity to press 
home some heart truths, and did so vigor- 
ously. The missionary offering followed, 
doubling the amount of the previous year. 

Again, in the Far West, at Chehalis, 
Wash., came the news of the home-going of 
Alice Yoder, from India, and in the memo- 
rial service held in the evening Mr. Mem- 
inger preached from Miss Yoder's favorite 
text: (John x. 16) "The Other Sheep." A 
hush of the Holy Spirit came upon the large 
audience that had gathered from six miles 
around. Sobs, flowing tears and smiles min- 
gled, and when an appeal was made to fill up 
the gap, many were the responses from the 
young people. Many received great uplift- 
ing and no one will soon forget that memo- 
rial service. 

And the missionaries liked to travel with 
"the Little Man and Woman from Chicago." 
Mr. Hamill, who was one of the last mis- 
sionaries to travel with them in convention 
work, writes thus from China: 

"I often think of our first trip together — 
that Western trip. Can we ever forget it! 
There are many things that bring it back to 



Missions 1 1 1 

me. What a help you and Brother Memin- 
ger were to me at Calgary when my tooth 
was ulcerated. I shall never forget the first 
time Brother Meminger laid his hands on 
me. The power came down. The Lord met 
us that afternoon. It was then that you and 
your husband sang: 

'They are all on Jesus.' 

I should like to hear you sing it again, for 
it w r as such a blessing to me that afternoon. 

"Brother Meminger proved to be such a 
congenial companion on that Western trip, 
as well as at the summer conventions. He 
was so agreeable and considerate that one 
could not help but feel free with him. Then 
again, I enjoyed his company on the plat- 
form for he was intensely interested in mis- 
sions. How often have I seen him smile as 
I have been speaking on China, and how of- 
ten have I heard him give that rather quiet 
but very emphatic assent of 'Yes, yes.' He 
encouraged me many, many times as I made 
an appeal for China and the heathen world 
at large. 

"You speak of the little feast that we had 
in your room two nights before you were to 
have left New York. Well, I often think of 



1 12 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

it too. How we enjoyed the cake and fruit 
as well as the good pot of coffee that you 
made, I remember, too, how I thought that 
I had better not keep you up ; but Brother 
Meminger seemed to want me to stay. I 
am glad now that I stayed and had such a 
long chat with him. Nor shall I forget how 
he slipped five dollars into my hands as I 
said good-night to him. If I remember 
rightly, he said, 'This will help you get back 
to China/ You will remember that he was 
very much interested in my getting back to 
China. Then, the next night comes back to 
me, and I think of how I said good-bye to 
him down at the Tabernacle door as he was 
on his way to the open air meeting at the 
corner. I told him that I was very glad that 
I had learned to know him and to love him, 
and he responded in a way that showed me 
that he appreciated what I had said." 

How delighted he was to send in his re- 
ports of the progress in the missionary offer- 
ings, and no convention was to him a suc- 
cess unless it found practical outlet in gifts 
for foreign mission work. 



Chapter XII. 
CHICAGO WORK. 

IN 1907 Wilbur Meminger was requested 
by the Board of the Christian and Mis- 
sionary Alliance to take up the local work 
in Chicago. He found the work in a neglect- 
ed condition but organized a number of 
meetings immediately. Mrs. T. C. Rounds, 
of the Chicago Hebrew Mission, who was 
in close touch with the Alliance work in Chi- 
cago, writes thus : 

"As I look back, how well I remember the 
first time I ever saw him. The work in 
Chicago had gone down, down, down until 
there was only a little handful to tell the 
story of an Alliance amongst us. But these 
faithful few were praying that the Lord 
would revive the work and send a man to 
build it up. A last efifort was made and an 
Alliance Convention was the result. The 
second day of the convention Doctor Simp- 
son pointed out a medium sized man with 
large, keen black eyes and a face that betok- 
ened energy and life, as the man whom they 
were going to send as the Superintendent of 



1 14 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

the Chicago work. He said, 'I believe that 
he is just the man for the place.' He came 
and time proved that not only was he the 
man for the place, but the place was just 
for the man, for in it 'the little man from 
Chicago/ as he used afterwards to call him- 
self, took root and grew and expanded un- 
til even Chicago grew too small for him. 

"The field was a hard one. The people 
of the 'Fourfold Gosper were scattered 
everywhere. Doctor Dowie was in the hey- 
day of his popularity and everything 'but 
God' was against a revival. But with in- 
domitable energy born of the Holy Ghost 
he put his hand to the plow and from that 
day never looked back. 

"He began meetings in the Central Bap- 
tist Church on Clark St., near Van Buren, 
humanly Speaking a very undesirable dis- 
trict to hold popular meetings. But as he 
and a little band he gathered around him la- 
bored on indefatigably the Lord wrought 
and soon the place became known as a meet- 
ing place of God w r ith His people. Here sin- 
ners were saved, believers sanctified and 
multitudes were healed, for there never was 
a service that the altar was not full of those 
seeking the Lord. And just here I may add 



Chicago Work 115 

that I think I never saw anyone more su- 
premely happy than Mr. Meminger when he 
could get an altar full of people, and those 
who came uniformly got what they were 
seeking for, for he patiently labored with 
each one until the light came. 

"From early morn till late at night outside 
of this weekly meeting he with his wife, af- 
ter she came to Chicago, were constantly 
on the wing, flying from one part of the 
city to another, visiting the sick, the suffer- 
ing, the needy and the dying, and as a result 
scores were snatched from the hands of 
death in answer to the 'prayer of faith' that 
was offered. 

"In the early days of his Chicago experi- 
ence he 'endured hardness as a good soldier 
of Jesus Christ/ no one ever suspecting un- 
til it was all over: — even to taking 'joyful- 
ly the spoiling of his goods/ when a much- 
needed new overcoat was stolen from him — 
so uncomplaining was his spirit. 

"It soon became apparent that there must 
be a change in the meeting place of the Al- 
liance. The Lord fixed our brother's eyes 
and heart upon Willard Hall. With a zeal 
that was untiring he followed it up with an 
active faith in God that soon made others 



1 16 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

see as he, the advisability of the change, and 
the mighty God back of finances ready to 
meet the needs of those who trust in Him. 
From the beginning it was a success, and 
many hands now joined his, for there is 
'nothing so successful as success.' Besides 
the Willard Hall meeting, others were or- 
ganized and held in different parts of the 
city, and all was going well. 

"It was with the deepest regret our Alli- 
ance chiefs informed us that they had select- 
ed our brother for a wider field — as one of 
their Field Secretaries. We parted with him 
most reluctantly. But he was ever most 
warmly welcomed back whenever he and 
his wife, to whom he was so devotedly at- 
tached, found it convenient to make a visit 
to Chicago. 

"There is much to say about the man 
whom 'none knew but to love.' He was an 
orator. His power of imagination and de- 
scription were great. The subjects of his 
discourse stood out as living realities, and 
he would hold in breathless silence his audi- 
ences. Many, or a I may say, none, will ever 
forget the portraiture of his own life, which 
he frequently gave in such graphic, startling 
words, as to indelibly impress the saving 



Chicago Work 117 

power of the blood to cleanse and keep 
cleansing. Hearts touched in these living pic- 
tures and many souls taking courage, yield- 
ed to God and were 'born again/ and their 
lives were transformed by the renewing of 
their minds. 

"None ever doubted that he was a man of 
prayer. Whatever success he had he at- 
tributed it to H f im, who hears and answers 
prayer, believing with his whole heart that 
whatever was done, God must do it, and 
did do it. 

"I could not close this without referring to 
what he was to the Chicago Hebrew Mis- 
sion. He soon became a member of the 
Board of Trustees and so continued during 
the years of his residence in the city. We 
ever found him a good adviser and a strong 
help in prayer. He loved Israel and always 
did everything in his power to excite inter- 
est in God's ancient people, and no conven- 
tion that he held in Chicago was complete 
unless Israel and the Mission were repre- 
sented. The Gospel must be preached 'to 
the Jew first' was uppermost in his mind, 
and without doubt he owed much success to 
this. 

"Time fails me to speak of many other 



1 1 8 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

virtues, but with this I close. He was a 
Spirit-filled man, the graces of the Spirit as 
well as the gifts abounded in his life and 
made him what he was, a most lovable as 
well as lovely man. May the Lord make us 
imitators of him as he imitated Christ." 

After taking up the work in Chicago for 
a time, he had temporary quarters in a flat 
with two of his boys. One night the in- 
mates of twenty-one flats were chloro- 
formed and robbed, among them Mr. M(em- 
inger. He lost his watch and clothing, and 
in fact, everything he owned. Twice he was 
held up in the streets of Chicago ; once by 
two women, for the purpose of robbery, but 
as he was a preacher they let him go. Again, 
two young men passing him pointed two 
revolvers at his face, crying, "Hands up." 
Up went his hands and in one of them a 
Bible. Seeing the B'ible one said to the 
other, "Don't hurt him, he's a preacher." 
Then and there he preached Christ to them. 

Space will not permit us to give many de- 
tails of his work while in Chicago. He 
worked hand in hand with the missions of 
the slums. He and his wife were constant- 
ly visiting the poor and sinful, and in a sin- 
gle year 1,500 visits were made by them, 



Chicago Work 119 

and many were saved and healed. There 
was no cut and dried method employed ; no 
side way of meeting the people. New meth- 
ods must be constantly used to meet the 
varying needs. 

On one occasion with his wife and Mrs. 
Trumbull he visited the slums. 

"A long street car ride brought us to a 
part of Chicago where rents were low and 
everything else was low. Up the long flight 
of stairs we climbed. After long and loud 
knocking we entered the larger of two 
rooms; the woman, the mother, the forsak- 
en wife, was surrounded by children, that at 
first sight appeared to be of all ages, but 
seven in all, their scanty clothing torn and 
dirty. Some of the children were sick, all of 
them cross, mother discouraged, hair un- 
combed, face, hands and arms unclean, cloth- 
ing unclean, untidy. Dirt everywhere. Not 
a clean chair or table ; walls, windows, floors, 
all dirty. Stove rusty and out of repair, 
the black night of despair was closing in 
upon them. Quickly the two sisters found 
soap and towel and began to wash the lit- 
tle children ; the older ones took the hint 
and washed and combed themselves. The 
mother refused to make any change in her 



120 fa The Little Man from Chicago " 

appearance at first, but when some whole- 
some food was untied and the table set, the 
eyes of all fixed upon her, she yielded, made 
herself as presentable as possible. We all 
gathered round the table, and as the writer 
asked the Lord's blessing upon it all, the 
children wondered. After the meal, the 
dishes washed and put away, we all felt an 
increased warmth about our hearts. We 
loved each other. The mother broke down 
completely, in tears, told of her sickness, 
how it prevented her from attending to her 
ordinary duties. We told her how the Lord 
had heard prayer and healed our bodies, 
etc., and that we believed the Lord would 
heal her. At last she called for the elders, 
anointing service, something new in that 
home. After the prayer of dedication and 
separation the oil was applied as the prayer 
was closing, 'and the Lord shall raise him 
up, and if he hath committed sins they shall 
be forgiven.' The mother exclaimed, 'Oh, 
the merciful God has touched my poor, sin- 
ful body. He has sent you to my poor 
home.' A few months later we paid another 
visit. Stairs clean, light tap at the door 
and a bright-faced girl of ten opens it, and 
with a smile, welcomes us. The floors are 



Chicago Work 121 

clean, the stove is blacked, the windows 
bright; the mother, with only a calico robe, 
is now a princess. No pictures yet upon the 
wall until Sister Trumbull fastened upon 
the wall, opposite the window, a beautiful 
motto, £ J e sus Christ the same yesterday, to- 
day and forever/ " 

He was ever zealous for the work of the 
Master and an inspiration to all Christian 
workers. More than one of the Chicago 
workers have felt it a privilege to meet and 
know him intimately. His consistent life 
helped many. 

"I have been with him," says one, "when 
called to visit the sick both in the hospi- 
tals and homes where patients were consid- 
ered past recovery, but were willing to trust 
God for all He had for them for both soul 
and body. I have seen such anointed and 
prayed with and raised up in answer to the 
prayer of faith, become active and useful 
members of their homes and communities 
and ready to testify to what God had done 
for them by His saving power. 

"I recall many instances where his pres- 
ence among the sick was a comfort and 
a benediction, and not only the sick but the 
sinner was made to rejoice by being brought 



122 " The Little Man from Chicago M 

out of darkness into light and life through 
his zeal and untiring life for the Mlaster." 

A unique feature of Mr. Meminger's work 
in Chicago was a prayer meeting held in the 
parlor of one of the workers which was con- 
ducted for about nine years, and all the hard 
cases were brought to this meeting for 
prayer. It was called "The Emergency 
Prayer Meeting" and there were results in 
the salvation of souls and the healing of 
bodies. One woman was healed of cancer; 
another of blindness; the sight of one eye 
was gone and with the other she was able to 
distinguish only white from black. This 
woman is now reading and praising God. 
This meeting has developed into a mission 
in the saloon district, and is being greatly 
blessed of God. 

His field soon began to widen both to 
the South and to the Northwest, and was 
finally called to the field work of the Alli- 
ance. 



Chapter XIII. 
THE FIELD WORK. 

TB}E field work of the Christian and Mis- 
sionary Alliance took Mr. M-eminger 
all over the continent and through 
Canada. Hiis first trip to the Pacific Coast 
was made in 1900. The train was wrecked 
in the Rock Mountains, but they were pre- 
served without injury. Mr Meminger, in 
writing East about this incident, said: 

"Most of the journey was made in a 
blinding snowstorm, sleet and hail. After 
more than ten days and nights in the cars ; 
darting through tunnels, climbing mountain 
sides, speeding over vast plains and prairies, 
Avith now and then a village, or a gaunt 
herd of cattle and sometimes a pack of 
wolves startled by the engine whistle. Af- 
ter the awful grade had been climbed and 
the summit reached, our engine gave a 
mighty blast of triumph which echoed 
through the pines and crags. Just then our 
engine found something wrong with the 
air-brake and was backing into a side track 



124 " The Little Man from Chicago M 

when the second section of our train came 
crashing into us knocking some of the cars 
into kindling wood. The one next to us was 
completely destroyed. Our car, which was 
a sleeper, was hurled into the air, and turned 
over, stopping less than six inches from the 
edge of a precipice hundreds of feet deep. 
Of course, our car became a scene of great 
confusion. Wife and I hurried out only 
partly clothed, the storm was still raging, 
and the thermometer at 35 degrees below 
zero. We were then packed into a smoking 
car for hours until the wreck was cleared 
away. We praised the Lord that we were 
not injured in any way. The two trains 
were made into one, and with two mighty 
engines we made the trip down in safety, 
still able to admire the grand scenery about 
us, the snow-capped peaks, the dark blue 
ranges and fresh green of the gorges. At 
last we steamed into Spokane twenty-one 
hours behind time." 

But their trials were not over. After 
spending ten days in Spokane, they passed 
on to Seattle and from there to Tacoma and 
on to Portland, Oregon. 

Little has been said of their home life in Ty- 
rone. While still in business, Mr. Memin- 



The Field Work 125 

ger met and married Laura Stewart in 1876, 
the daughter of the Rev. J. D. Stewart, of 
whom mention has already been made. Three 
children were born to them, William, Paul 
and Charles, in "the little brown house" where 
they first took up housekeeping. It was a 
small house which they were buying, and it 
soon became too small for the family and a 
large room was added. Here in this room as 
soon as it was built, weekly meetings were 
started in which sinners were saved, believers 
sanctified, and sick ones healed. Thus he 
ever combined religion with his daily life. 
He felt that the house truly belonged to the 
Lord and they never anticipated any possible 
disaster. When the house was nearly paid 
for, Mr. Meminger obliged a good brother in 
the church by endorsing a note for him, and 
when the note became due, it was Wilbur 
Meminger who had to see his "little brown 
house" go to meet it. It seemed hard to him 
and it was difficult, indeed, to forgive the 
brother who had so wronged them. He was 
conscious, however, that his heart was wrong 
and so he prayed earnestly about it and asked 
for grace to forgive. This was given him. He 
wanted this brother, however, to know that he 
had forgiven him his injury, and he, therefore, 



126 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

besought the Lord further to give him the op- 
portunity to do a kindness to this man. This 
also was granted, and Wilbur Meminger re- 
mained a happy man although his home was 
gone. But the story is not finished. 

He never broached this incident to his fa- 
ther-in-law, the Rev. J. D. Stewart, but in 
some way it came into his knowledge, and he, 
unknown to his daughter and son-in-law, 
bought the house when it was sold and later 
gave it into their possession. 

Wilbur Meminger believed in family reli- 
gion and one of his favorite passages of Scrip- 
ture was "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and thou shalt be saved and thy house." His 
business relations and church duties, therefore, 
gave only a limited amount of time in the 
home, but here as elsewhere he was not hard 
to please, and exhibited always a grateful 
spirit, feeling ever that God was showering 
upon him more than he deserved. In a pre- 
vious chapter we have briefly referred to the 
fact that the youngest son, Charles, was in- 
stantly taken home in an accident. He had 
felt the call of God to go to China and had set 
to work to earn the money which was to edu- 
cate him and take him to the field. During the 
first trip of his parents to the West — the trip 






The Field Work 127 

already referred to above — while they were 
in service at Tacoma, Washington, Charles 
was instantly called home by a railroad acci- 
dent. Word did not reach his parents until 
they arrived at Portland, Oregon. 

Rev. J. H. Allen of Long Beach, Cal., super- 
intendent of the Berea Mission, Portland, 
Oregon, where Alliance meetings were then 
being held, writes thus : 

"When Brother Meminger stepped into the 
pulpit for the first service, we felt intuitively 
that he was one of God's noblemen and that 
he knew the voice of the Holy Spirit. The 
full assurance of this was given not only to 
us personally but to the entire congregation 
in a most marked way on that eventful Sun- 
day, that will never be forgotten by many of 
that congregation. 

"That morning a telegram came addressed 
to Brother Meminger in my care and I slipped 
it in my pocket charging my mind carefully 
that I should not forget to deliver it to him, 
but I came away from the morning service 
with it still in my pocket. At this service the 
text Mr. Meminger used was from Ecclesi- 
astes vii. vss. 2 and 3 — "It is better to go to 
the house of mourning than to go to the house 



128 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

of feasting; for that is the end of all men; 
and the living will lay it to his heart/' etc. 

"That evening I hurried to the church feel- 
ing embarrassed and humiliated that I had for- 
gotten to deliver the telegram. As quickly as 
I could I handed the message to Brother 
Meminger at the same time apologizing for 
my carelessness. He wanted to consult me 
for a moment and so passed the telegram to 
his wife to open and read. When Brother 
Meminger had finished speaking with me and 
I was passing on tow T ard the rostrum, I 
stopped suddenly on hearing a moan and look- 
ed back in time to see Mrs. Meminger hand 
the telegram to her husband as she exclaimed, 
'Oh, my baby boy!' That telegram told of 
the calamity which had overtaken their son. 
In a few minutes they were enabled to enter 
the pulpit and sing the hymn of victory. 

"Later, before he began preaching, he told 
the people of the great sorrow that had come 
to them; but he added, T told you this morn- 
ing that it was better to go to the house of 
mourning than to the house of feasting, and 
God knew that I meant it. He has sent the 
test and I mean it yet.' " 

Mr. Meminger in reporting the convention 







W [LBUR \i EM I N'GER's VOU NGES'J GR \NDC 



ii ii. d. 



The Field Work 129 

work at this time referred very briefly to this 
time of testing and trial. 

'Here we received the severest shock of 
all our lives. Telegram only read: 'Charles 
was killed to-day on the railroad.' The blow 
staggered us for a time. The little woman 
reeled and fell, but in answer to prayer God 
gave her back to us. 'Praise God from whom 
all blessings flow/ and together we sang that 
Sunday night (as never before), just before 
I gave the message : 

Tve yielded to God and I'm saved every hour, 
I've yielded to God and I feel His sweet power. 
IVe trusted His promises, not one has failed 
Of all His good Word, though the tempter assailed/ 

"The congregation were unable longer to 
control their emotion. Some sobbed aloud, 
others were bathed in tears of joy. We all 
had the victory and they with hearts full of 
tenderest sympathy for us, had been in prayer 
for our complete trust in the dear Lord. It 
was their victory and ours. But our testing 
was not over yet; a decision must now be 
made between Love — and duty. 

"Shall we leave the work, return home and 
once more look upon the face of our baby boy 
before they lift up the sod and place his body 
under? Father-love and mother-love said go 



130 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

at once. The Spirit led on down the Coast. 
Decision was made in favor of duty and in a 
moment we were enabled to smile through 
our tears. Convention deepened and heighten- 
ed the interest in missions, the princely offer- 
ing made at close of the Convention was 
proof." 

Rev. W. A. Cramer, now in charge of the 
Christian and Missionary Alliance at Cleve- 
land, was then in Chicago and writing of this 
incident says : 

"The Christian fortitude and abundant 
grace given our dear Brother Meminger and 
his wife at the time of the tragic killing of 
their son, by being run down in the railroad 
yards by an engine, always impressed me as 
a most wonderful display of the keeping pow- 
er of the presence of Jesus. While waiting 
in Chicago for word from them, from the Pa- 
cific Coast, where they were holding meetings, 
expecting them to come on to attend the fu- 
neral, we received this message instead: 'Do 
all you can for the precious dead, we will con- 
tinue to hold up Jesus to the living and finish 
our work here.' I had known Charles but a 
short time and had come to regard him very 
highly and had but the day before his death 
talked with him concerning his eternal inter- 




The Field Work 131 

ests. He was desirous to labor that his father 
might continue in the Lord's work, and he 
himself had become greatly interested in the 
thought of some day going to China. We had 
talked somewhat concerning my personal ex- 
periences in the Congo field. We all felt him 
to have been a missionary at heart which is 
counted to his reward by Him who reads all 
hearts. 

"I and his uncle, Mr. Stewart, accompa- 
nied the remains to Tyrone, Pa., where inter- 
ment was made after services held in the 
home of his grandfather, Rev. J. D. Stewart. 

"The memory of this incident will always 
bear about it the sweet savor of lives wholly 
committed to the service of the Master and 
who stop not in their course, but move on and 
trust all to Him. This mantle of heavenly 
peacefulness and soul calm seemed not to 
have departed from our Sister Meminger, 
when I met her as she was following the re- 
mains of her precious husband from the Gos- 
pel Tabernacle but a short time since. When, 
forgetful of her own sorrow, she said, 'Dear 
Mr. Cramer, I have been praying so much for 
you and the missionaries/ Thus : 'The 
Peace of God which passeth all understand- 
ing. 



Chapter XIV. 

FIELD WORK (Continued). 

The second trip was made to Southern 
California in 1902. Of this visit Rev. J. 
Hudson Ballard. Principal of the Wilson 
Memorial Academy, Xyack, writes: 

"Well do I remember the time when 
Brother Meminger visited us in Southern 
California for a series of special conven- 
tions. It was in the winter of 1902-03. I 
had been but a few months in the sunny 
land and had found a great many scattered 
friends of the full gospel, but very little 
organization, chiefly because there were no 
standards raised around which the people 
could rally. It fell to Brother Meminger 
and myself to visit the long-neglected 
branches and revive the hearts of the friends 
at each place in a short convention. When 
it rains in California it generally rains and 
does nothing else. I well remember partic- 
ularly that many of those convention days 
were days of continuous downpour. To 
the Southern Californians this was very wel- 
come because the rain drops there are liter- 
ally 'gold drops/ but to Easterners the rain 
was not so significant of prosperity and 
cheerfulness. 



The Field Work 133 

"Nevertheless, in spite of the trying cli- 
matic conditions and the scattered and fre- 
quently disheartening character of the full 
gospel bands, Mr. Meminger pushed on 
from place to place with that zeal and vi- 
vacity which were so delightfully character- 
istic of him. It was chiefly his buoyant 
cheerfulness and his firm faith in the Lord 
that carried those introductory meetings 
through to a series of successful climaxes. 
Physical inconveniences and weather irreg- 
ularities were far beneath him. He steamed 
on just the same, full of love and vigor in 
the service of his Master. 

"His messages then, as I have frequently 
observed in many other places, were true 
to the great though often-neglected stand- 
ards of the gospel. He was particularly 
noted for passing by some of the finer and 
rather pretty distinctions which belong to 
the philosophy of the higher Christian life — 
often without any practical profit — and in- 
sisted upon the great foundation truths. He 
was brave enough to preach to the people 
what they were supposed to have learned 
in their childhood, but what in fact in many 
instances they had never learned in their 
hearts. He dwelt on the love of God and 



134 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

the judgment that was coming, on the re- 
deeming power of Christ and the perfect 
cleansing through the blood, on the inspira- 
tion and final authority of the Word of God 
and the continual and mighty inworking of 
the Holy Spirit. He found in such great 
universal truths as these sufficient scope for 
his vigorous thinking and his forceful 
preaching. He did not stop to quibble with 
the saints over the splitting of a hair, but 
seemed to be impelled constantly by a bur- 
dening love for lost souls. Although he 
preached the full gospel in all its upper 
reaches and directed the gaze of the saints 
forward to the coming of the Lord, he never 
during one service forgot the condition of 
those who needed the first application of 
the gospel in its regenerating power and 
who needed it that very hour. 

"Brother Memingers cheerful view of 
things was more than human optimism. It 
was a divine insight into the often hidden 
beauties of seemingly coarse and distressing 
circumstances. He was unable to see the 
difficulties and repeatedly surprised us by 
the encouraging things he saw in the com- 
monest incidents. His reports to the East- 
ern friends were full of victory, with no 



The Field Work 135 

mention of what tc many appeared to be the 
sign of failure. 

"In all these things and in many others 
he left a deep impression upon those who 
listened to him and those who were privi- 
leged to labor along with him to the effect 
that this man was down to the depths of his 
earnest soul a man of God, who would be 
willing to do what a few years later he actu- 
ally did do — wear himself out and give him- 
self up for the sake of the souls of men." 

The last trip to the Coast was made in 
1908 and one that cannot soon be forgotten. 

In September, 1908, Mr. and Mrs. M j emin- 
ger started for a long tour covering a num- 
ber of points in the South and Far West. 
Mr. Meminger preached in the Gospel Tab- 
ernacle on Sunday evening and at the close 
of the service, Mr. Josephus L. Pulis prayed, 
especially committing Mir. and Mrs. Mem- 
inger to the care of the Lord on their pros- 
pective journey. In the midst of his prayer 
he broke down and cried, and many joined 
their tears with his. A brother went to Mr. 
Pulis later and asked him why he cried, to 
which he responded, "I cannot tell you, but 
the Lord knows why I cried and the Lord 
laid that burden on me." 



136 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

The following day Mir. and Mrs. Memin- 
ger started for the South, stopping all night 
at Dansville, Va. They took the first train 
out in the morning which happened to be a 
fast express. An extra fare was charged on 
this train of three dollars. This reduced 
their pocket-book to such an extent that 
they were unable to purchase meals on the 
train and all the way to Atlanta not a stop 
was made at which they could even pur- 
chase a sandwich. Eight minutes after leav- 
ing the station of Spartansburg, S. C, a 
heavy crash was heard and the bridge over 
which they had just passed was completely 
washed away. The train went on to Green- 
ville, N. C, at which point the train was 
sidetracked and remained for the night. An- 
other bridge just ahead had been washed 
away with the exception of the ties and the 
rails. The only way to cross was by placing 
planks over what remained of the bridge 
and having the passengers go one by one 
to the other side. Even this was at consid- 
erable risk, but the passage was made in 
safety. Still later there w r as another bridge 
to cross. It had to be repaired, however, 
before a train would dare to pass over on 
it. Men did this by standing waist deep in 



The Field Work 137 

water while the passenger train waited four 
hours. At length Atlanta was reached af- 
ter a fast of forty-one hours and after a most 
tedious and tiresome journey. Arriving at 
Atlanta Mr. Meminger hurried off to the 
meeting and on his arrival in the place 
the friends knowing of some of the difficul- 
ties of the way, arose, cheered and waved 
their handkerchiefs. He understood then 
the reason for Mr. Pulis' prayer and the 
burden which seemed to overwhelm him 
that Sunday night. 

But this was not the end of that memora- 
ble journey. Their steps then lay in a west- 
erly direction, stopping next at St. Paul 
and Minneapolis for meetings. On they sped 
to the West, passing through prairie fires. 
After a very blessed service on the Coast 
they returned to the East by way of Canada 
and in the Canadian Rockies were again 
halted in their journey by heavy snow falls 
through which the train could not pass. Fi- 
nally, the engine stopped; the wires were 
kept busy and soon from the nearest city a 
large number of laborers, principally Japan- 
ese, arrived to dig the train out, but the 
snow drifted in faster than they could dig 
and it was not long before the train was 



138 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

completely covered with the snow. The pas- 
sengers could do nothing but wait, and here 
they remained from Tuesday until Friday. 
The gas gave out. The conductor hung his 
lantern in the middle of the car and put a 
candle at each end. The water gave out and 
snow had to be melted for the emergency. 
The well-supplied dining car, however, kept 
the passengers fed in the meantime. Some 
photographs were taken of the train at this 
time and one gives an excellent view of the 
train being dug out. The man on the right 
hand side is standing on top of the train, 
and when the train was finally dug out in- 
stead of being taken along on their journey, 
because of heavier drifts still ahead, they 
were compelled to go back. They remained 
in this town of Maple Creek until Saturday 
noon, missing two conventions which had 
been planned, but arriving in Winnipeg in 
time for the meetings there. Thus they were 
wont to say in referring to this trip they 
went through floods, through fires and 
through snow, but were brought out in per- 
fect safety. 

Several evangelistic tours were conducted 
in the South in company with Rev. R. A. 
Forrest. He writes : 



o 



3§ 



d S 

C/3 tti 

> ?c 

/ - 



O o 

o x 

- 3 

- ' 

- r- 
v. g 




The Field Work 139 

"Among my earliest recollections of Bro. 
Meminger is of our sitting together in an 
old deserted barn in South Florida talking 
of the Lord and His work. The writer was 
then just being initiated into the Alliance 
work and Brother Mleminger was at that 
time superintendent of the Southern Dis- 
trict, having come to Florida for the 
winter conventions. After talking a while 
we went to our knees on a pile of corn fod- 
der, and I can remember yet the thrill of the 
presence of God, as he prayed Hjim to bless 
and use us in the work, and help us to be 
His best. Many times since we have remem- 
bered that prayer meeting, and have felt 
stronger for the memory. 

"It was not long until God called Brother 
Meminger to a larger and wider sphere of 
usefulness, and by a strange leading of 
Providence we were trying to care for the 
Southern District; and it was then that we 
had the privilege upon four or five occasions 
of having Brother Meminger with us for 
conventions and series of conventions. It 
has often been said, and very truly, that 
there is no better place to get acquainted 
with one than travelling in convention work. 
Every opportunity is here afforded to dis 



140 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

play whatever selfishness, impatience, or ir- 
ritability there may be lurking in one's 
heart; and yet after being with Brother 
Meminger for months at a time, in meetings 
almost constantly, we can truthfully say 
that he was always the same gentle, even- 
tempered man, and a true representative of 
the Christ whom he loved and served. 

"One of Brother Meminger's distinguishing 
characteristics was his marked individuality. 
It was a very foolish man who tried to imi- 
tate him successfully, for one never knew 
what he would do next. Strong, buoyant, 
energetic, hopeful, and deeply spiritual, he 
won hearts everywhere he went throughout 
the South, and wherever we go since his 
death we find loving hearts who bear grate- 
ful testimony to great blessing derived from 
his ministry. 

"In all his meetings and preaching he was 
true to the truth God had revealed to Him, 
preaching powerfully and fearlessly without 
compromise the message God gave him, and 
it is not surprising therefore that his minis- 
try has born 'much fruit that shall remain.' 

"On his last trip through the South just a 
few weeks prior to his death, God wonder- 
fully used him, especially at Durham, N. C, 






The Field Work 141 

in the Gospel Tabernacle. Souls were saved, 
believers sanctified, and the church received 
a wonderful uplift and blessing as a result 
of his meetings. 

"On the night of his 'abundant entrance/ 
as he went down the stairs to the street 
meeting where his body fell, he called back 
to the writer saying that as soon as the 
street meeting was over he wanted to have a 
conversation about the Durham meetings. 
We are awaiting with joyful anticipation the 
time when we will not only have that con- 
versation, but will be able to talk over all 
the conflicts and triumphs we have been 
privileged to share in the Southland. 

"We miss his glad 'Hallelujah !' and the 
inspiration of his earthly presence, but we 
are sure he is now making the courts of 
heaven ring with shouts of praise to the 
Lamb that are far louder and more triumph- 
ant than the loudest shout while here. 

"The sympathy, love and prayers of thou- 
sands of Southern friends are extended to his 
bereaved wife in this greatest of earthly sor- 
rows, thai God may sustain her, and bright- 
en her last years of loneliness with the com- 
forting thought of her love, care, and devo- 
tion that helped make him the man he was, 



142 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

and the glorious hope of going up with him 
'to meet the Lord in the air.' 

"What a glorious sweeping entrance he 
had into glory ! His passing away was like 
the going down of the sun on a beautiful 
summer evening as it seems to dip beneath 
the Western hills in the full strength of its 
effulgent glory, leaving a great halo of light 
in the heavens long after it is gone. The 
memory of this strong, brave, true life will 
remain in blessing among men until Jesus 
comes." 



Ulysses Lewis, of Atlanta, Georgia, who 
was much with him in the work there, sends 
the following lines : 

"Dear Sister Meminger: 

"Your letter was received some days ago 
while I was engrossed in many matters that 
did not allow me time to reply. Since the 
death of Brother Meminger I have thought 
of you many times, and heard with pleasure 
how God's grace sustained you through the 
trying ordeal of his sudden departure. I 
know you miss him. You two were insepa- 
rable for years. It will be hard for you to 



The Field Work 143 

get used to his absence. His sudden death 
changed all your plans without notice. We 
miss him, too, and shall miss him more at 
the time of our conventions in Atlanta. He 
was greatly beloved here. No preacher was 
more acceptable to our people than he, and 
God used him here to benefit many lives who 
will never forget him and his wonderful 
preaching. It was a strange providence 
which took him at that time. He was need- 
ed by the Alliance more than at any time 
before, and was doing a great work. Every 
part of the field felt the shock of his depar- 
ture, and his loss to the work cannot be 
estimated. But God knew best and gave 
him a glorious death on the field in full har- 
ness, which is to be envied. I have heard 
many say that no doubt he would have chos- 
en to go that way. 

"The news of his death came to us in a 
telegram which also announced the danger- 
ous illness of my daughter Elizabeth, in 
China, with typhoid fever. I at once prayed. 

"Mir. Meminger was no ordinary man. 
His style of preaching was all his own — dif- 
ferent from any T ever heard— and was very 
effective and always interesting, brilliant 



144 u The Little Man from Chicago " 

and helpful. He helped many a soul that no 
one else could touch ; and the Lord gave 
him souls for his hire. He kept in touch 
with us in Atlanta and wrote some of us 
regularly. His published articles were also 
read with deep interest. In my ex 
traveling over the Alliance work, I found 
him loved everywhere,, and universal sorrow 
at his death. 

'He was always bright and cheerful. His 
sunny disposition lifted people while he 
pointed them to God with quick power from 
above, and with the soundest doctrine and 
convincing persuasion. Believers were 
strengthened, backsliders drawn and sinners 
convicted and converted. It was my privi- 
lege to pray for him constantly ever since 
I have known him. and to love him like a 
brother. My children all loved him. He 
used to take my two little boys on excur- 
sions to the park here, treating them to pea- 
nuts and candy and boating on the lake. 
They thought there was no one like him. 
and they were right about that. 

"We have all a warm place in our hear:- 
and homes for you. When it pleases the 
Lord to send you this way we shall be glad 



The Field Work 145 

to see you. Mjy family all well. Your friend 
and brother, 

"Ulysses Lewis." 

And the Rev. E. E. Johnson, of Durham, 
N. C, in whose field Mr. Meminger labored 
so earnestly, bringing many souls to the 
Lord, writes: 

"My earliest remembrance of Mr. Memin- 
ger was that of a little man with a burning 
passion for souls. 

"He seemed to me to be all aflame with 
the 'passion fire of love Divine.' 

"The intervening years which have 
brought to me the coveted privilege of a 
more personal friendship and fellowship 
with him in the Lord's work have only 
served to strengthen my first impressions, 
and even now it is impossible to contem- 
plate his love and zeal without feeling a 
thrill of heavenly fire, and the quickening 
of the desire, if not the determination, to 
emulate the example of his life. 

"To him it was marvelous that Christians 
were not all alive and always alive to the 
work of winning souls. 

"Loyal to Christ he was always eager to 
lay some trophy at the Master's feet. Tie 



146 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

counted 'not his life dear' unto himself in his 
passionate yearning to save the lost. He 
traveled from Maine to Florida, from the 
Atlantic coast to the Pacific, resting not in 
summer or in winter, in the one intense, 
eager pursuit of lost souls : and wherever 
you found him there was the same burning 
zeal speaking out in His looks and his 
words. He was always moving in his work 
at a pace much nearer to a run than to a 
walk. 

"In September, 1909, he came to Durham, 
his second visit. 

"In all the years that I have known Mr. 
Meminger and heard him preach the good 
tidings of full salvation, I have never heard 
him preach with such Holy Ghost zeal and 
power as was manifest from the very begin- 
ning of his stay among us. As a friend, who 
upon hearing of his death and recalling his 
meetings at Durham as his last regular 
series of meetings, said, 'He seemed to be 
preaching as if it were his very last.' 

"Appeal after appeal with earnest exhor- 
tation came from his lips for twelve nights ; 
and how shall we describe the closing serv- 
ice on the last Sunday of the meetings. He 
spoke from the text in I. Samuel xx. 3, 




WILBUR M I'M I NGER S GRAND( HILDREN. 



The Field Work 147 

'There is but a step between me and death/ 
We all were made to feel that there was but 
a thin veil hanging between us and the great 
Eternity. So deeply moved were the hearts 
of the unsaved, that a gentle invitation was 
all that was needed to fill the altar with ear- 
nest, seeking souls. 

"The last scene of this service can only 
be pictured mentally. Words fail to de- 
scribe the picture as those who had found 
Christ during the meetings came with words 
of praise and thanksgiving for blessings re- 
ceived. How touching was the final scene 
as one after another of the 'new born babes' 
would grasp our brother's hand and with 
tears in their eyes bid him farewell as chil- 
dren taking leave of a very dear earthly 
parent. 

"Dear faithful man of God ! The ruling 
passion was strong in death. As he had spent 
himself in the service of the Lord, there was 
a solemn fitness in the last act of his life as 
he stood proclaiming Christ to the lost, and 
thus fell asleep." 



Chapter XV. 
CALLED HOME. 

"Not I, but Christ, be honored, loved, exalted, 
Xot I, but Christ, to wipe the falling tear, 

Not I, but Christ, to lift the weary burden, 
Not I, but Christ, to hush away all fear. 

"O to be saved from myself, dear Lord, 

O to be lost in Thee, 
O that it might be no more I, 

But Christ that lives in me." 

WE attended the New York Convention 
of the Christian and Missionary Alli- 
ance in October, 1909, and were to 
leave on the morning of the 7th for New 
York State and the Far West. Mr. Memin- 
ger was asked on the evening of the 6th by 
the Young People of the Gospel Tabernacle 
to speak at the street service held on the 
corner of Forty-fourth Street and Eighth 
Avenue. I stood by him while the serv- 
ice was going on, and, as I always did, pray- 
ed very earnestly for him as he was speaking. 
He gave his message closing with the words, 
"Amen, my heart is breaking for souls." He 
stepped back and physically seemed to be all 



Called Home 149 

right. I was tired from standing so long and 
not feeling very well and so turned to him say- 
ing, "I will go into the Tract Room and sit 
down until you come." He answered: "All 
right, I will be right along/' I walked into 
the Tract Room; but did not sit down, but in- 
stead walked to the door in a somewhat rest- 
less spirit. I am sure now that it was the 
Lord that led me away from the meeting. The 
street meeting broke up and a number of the 
people came into the Tabernacle door and 
one lady, a member of the congregation, as 
she came along was crying. I went up to her 
asking, "What is the matter, what is wrong?" 
"Oh," she said with uplifted hands, "your 
dear, good husband has fallen to the ground." 
I thought, "it is all over, if he has fallen," and 
I ran to the corner as fast as I could, but 
found that he had been carried into the Alli- 
ance House. I found him lying on the floor 
speechless, but not quite gone. I prayed that 
God would let him speak once more to me, 
but there was no response. I said, "Wilbur, 
do you know I am with you? If so, can you 
breathe a sigh of relief?" He breathed once 
and was gone. I believe the Lord spared him 
until I reached him. 



1 50 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

Words cannot express the heart break. I 
thought it would crush me to death too; but 
God held me very still in His mighty arms. It 
was the darkest night of my life, but He has 
taught me to say, "Thy will be done." Then 
came an awful struggle as I began to realize 
that my husband was really gone. 

Kind friends were all around me and about 
four o'clock in the morning the Spirit of God 
took hold of me and led me to pray in the 
Holy Ghost. It was there in prayer that I got 
away from myself, got away from my dear 
husband, got away from everything and got 
right into the very secret of His presence. It 
was there where God gave me the victory. He 
brought many dear ones to my remembrance 
and I prayed for them — for those in whose 
homes we had been and others. Miss 
McFedries, who was with me, said, "Now, 
Mrs. Meminger, you have prayed for two 
hours, you have been around the world and 
back again. Now I believe the Lord has some- 
thing to say to you. I would lie down and 
keep still and let the Lord speak." I said, 
"Miss McFedries, all I want is to have a vi- 
sion of Jesus. You pray that the Lord will 
give me this vision/' Miss McFedries prayed 
and such a prayer I never heard from anyone 




Called Home 151 

before. Finally all was quiet — she had ceased 
praying. Suddenly Mr. Meminger appeared 
in front of me. He was clothed in a beauti- 
ful robe and at the same time I saw a beauti- 
ful mound. It seemed to be so beautiful, so 
pure, so transparent. My attention was drawn 
to it. I wondered what it was when I saw 
Mr. Meminger stoop down and pick something 
off this mound until his arms became filled. 
He started away from the mound and it seem- 
ed that every step of the w r ay opened up so 
beautiful and glorious. I wondered where 
he was going when suddenly like a flash Jesus 
appeared — the King, so wonderful, so beauti- 
ful, w T ords cannot express. And I saw Mr. 
Meminger lay these trophies at Jesus' feet and 
I realized at once that they were jewels, souls 
that he had won for the Master. But that 
was not all. He returned to the mound and 
again filled his arms with these trophies, and 
it seemed as if the more he took away still 
higher the mound grew. And once again he 
laid the jewels at the feet of the Master. He 
bowed down before the Master w r ho laid His 
hands on his head and said, "Well done, thou 
good and faithful servant ; thou hast been faith- 
ful over a few things I will make thee ruler 
over many ; enter thou into the joy of the 



152 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

Lord." Then I said to Miss McFedries, "Not 
only has the Holy Spirit given me a vision of 
Jesus, but He has let me see my dear husband 
carrying souls and laying them at Jesus' feet." 
She said, "It was just like Jesus to roll the 
clouds away and give you such a beautiful 
vision." 

A few minutes later it seemed to me as 
though the Lord was going to take me too. I 
was perfectly calm. I got up, told my sister- 
in-law, who was also staying with me, every- 
thing concerning my children and all, for I 
really thought that I was going. 

Miss McFedries said, "No, no you are not 
going, the Lord is not through with you." 
But why do I feel this way? I realized then 
that God wanted me to be willing to go or stay, 
and I said, as never before, and from the bot- 
tom of my heart — "Thy will be done, I am per- 
fectly willing to go, and sweet it would be to 
meet my dear husband at the early morning 
hour ; but I am perfectly willing to stay a little 
longer to perhaps finish some work the Lord 
would have me do." 

I praise God for such wonderful victory and 
such a sweet vision of Jesus. I praise God I 
have learned the blessed secret of abiding in 
His presence, hidden with Christ. I am so 



Called Home 153 

glad Heaven is not far away. Our dear ones 
are very near. The veil seems very thin. I 
miss my dear companion at every turn. The 
tears come without bidding, but it is good to 
cry. It relieves the heart. Jesus wept at the 
grave of His friends. 

I have said that we were about to leave on 
the morrow for New York State. It was to 
do convention work with Rev. E. J. Richards, 
superintendent of the New York State work. 
The following letter from Mr. Richards is an 
evidence that the saving grace of the Lord 
Jesus was made manifest in the death of Mr. 
Meminger as well as in his life. 

"Schenectady, N. Y. 
"My dear Sister Meminger: — 

"How delighted I was when Dr. Simpson 
wrote me that Bro. Meminger had been as- 
signed to New York State for convention 
work. The memory of our campaign together 
two years before is still very precious in my 
heart, and I was delighted at the thought of 
having you both with us again. The people 
over the State felt likewise, and several in re- 
plying to my letters giving them the names of 
speakers, and the dates for their convention, 
spoke of how glad they were to have Bro. 
Meminger East again. When I received the 



54 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

..Tarn tliat he v. e, I felt stunned at 

rirst. I could hardly realize it. I was in Hor- 
neL ng you both to arrive on the train 

in the next few hours when the telegram 
handed me. After die first shock war 
and I really began to grasp the thing. I confess 
frankly that I did not grieve. You remem- 
ber Jesus raid to His disciples when the 
grieving over his departure. "If ye loved me 

vould rejoice, because I go to my Fath: 

:he time came for the evening and 

Miss :;mmoe arrived and brought us 
to the particular s : : his home-going, our hearts 

e melted. I could not preach that nigh:, s : 

instead of attempting to preach. I tried to 

paint three pictures before the people. The 

first -t showed the scene in the W.C.T.U. 

roo: af Joining, just twc years before and 

Bro. Meminger pouring out his heart in a call 

to the unsaved, and how at the c. ise : his ad- 

:jd gave him an instant 

: f the doom of the lost, and with a cry 

: jod, an open Hell" that startled 

everybody in the room, he dropped to the floor 

in a torrent of tears and volley of groans. I 

tried to picture how the little woman that 

stood by him in his work pulled his head up 

into her lap. and how for full twenty minv 



Called Home 155 

knelt there and groaned and prayed for lost 
souls. 

"The second scene was Rocky Springs Con- 
vention of 1909, as he stood on the stage of 
the large theatre, with easily one thousand peo- 
ple looking up into his face, and he took his 
text (I think it was the last one I ever heard 
him preach from), "As the Lord liveth, and as 
thy soul liveth, there is but a step between thy 
soul and death," and as he punctuated his ser- 
mon with the story of a man of his acquaint- 
ance, who, without a second's warning had 
been ushered into eternity, we never will for- 
get the sense of awe that swept down upon 
the congregation. Then I tried to draw a pic- 
ture of the scene on 8th avenue and the circle 
of sin-marked faces as Bro. Meminger stood 
there pleading with sinners to turn to the liv- 
ing God, closing his message with a more than 
usual heart-cry, stepped aside, and in an in- 
stant was in the presence of the King. With- 
out any wavering, without any long-drawn out 
illness, but in the harness, pulling hard for 
the salvation of souls, and the Glory of God, 
he fell headlong on toward Glory. 

"I will never forget how the presence of 
God settled upon the meeting and three souls 
came quickly forward and wept their way to 



:=: " The Lithe Mar. frcm Chicag: " 

the feet of Jesus. We are so glad that while 
God honored Bro. Meminger's ministry in the 
salvation of souls, that he also honored his 
ieaih in :he sane V.'jule e ire ^lai ::: him. 
our hearts beat in sympathy for you. We know 
:/..: is :.he iar: car: ani ye: ~.-e are sure : 
:.:: I-:: v.*:!! ;r:ve himself snmiien:. ani ma: 
by His grace, you will fill your place and do 
your work as faithfully as your husband did 
his. 

"Assuring you of our Christian love and 
svmpathy, I am 

Most prayerfully yours 
"I. ". Ri:ha?--5 

Little did he think on that memorable night 
of October 6th, 1909, as he was speaking to 
a -~.---~. --..-:.:- amm^ ..:.. "z:z :-. i;:_. 
number of laboring men, abou: making bricks 
without straw, that these were his last words 
on earth to a dying world. Little did he think 
that his work was ended. His relation to 
family, friends, Alliance and other duties must 
now shift from die earthly to the heavenly. 
He could say with Paul, "I am now ready to 
be offered, the time of my departure is at 
hand," and he immediately stepped behind the 
: :r:iin an : :". : :he: him His 

n: m:re heir: in :he s:ree: in :he hall, in :he 



Called Home 157 

convention. His smile radiant with the joy 
of the Lord and that has cheered so many 
hearts, has gone with him. He is silenced by 
Jhe last enemy — Death; but I still hear his 
voice echo in the language of Job, "For I 
know that my Redeemer liveth and that He 
shall stand at the latter day on the earth, and 
though in my skin worms destroy this body, 
yet in my flesh shall I see God." Henceforth 
let us not think of him in the grasp of the 
grave, but as 

"Forever with the Lord! 

Father, it is Thy will, 
The promise of that faithful word 

E'en here to me fulfill. 

"So when my latest breath 

Shall rend the vail in twain, 
By death I shall escape from death, 

And life eternal gain." 



Chapter XVI. 
MEMORIAL SERVICES. 

MORE than a thousand persons gath- 
ered in the Gospel Tabernacle at noon 
on Friday, October 8th, for the memo- 
rial service in connection with the funeral 
of the late Wilbur F. Meminger. Appropri- 
ate Scripture selections were read by Prin- 
cipal Stevens, of Nyack, following the open- 
ing hymn, "Am I a soldier of the Cross ?" 
After prayer by Rev. F. E. Marsh a solo 
was sung by Mrs. Mumford, of Philadelphia, 
k, Xot Now, but in the Coming Years." 

Mr. Simpson then gave the following ap- 
preciation : 

" 'And he cried, My father, my father, the 
chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof. 
And he saw him no more. And he said, 
Where is the Lord God of Elijah?' 

"Elisha had just witnessed the passing of 
his master in a cloud of glory and a chariot 
of flame. It was the fitting close of a splen- 
did life that to the younger prophet's mind 
suggested the figure of the chariots and 



Memorial Services 159 

horsemen of a mighty battalion of cavalry 
and artillery. So Elijah had swept through 
his brief and dramatic career and so the 
close had fittingly come in a blaze of glory. 

"In a very real, though of course, a hum- 
bler way, the glorified spirit, whose passing 
from our midst we mourn to-day, lived his 
great and noble life, and the fitting close 
was not unlike the dramatic career that pre- 
ceded it. Though we may not have seen the 
heavenly messengers we cannot question 
that the chariots of the Lord were there to 
convey that departing spirit to stand before 
the King. Had he been permitted to choose 
the circumstances of his departure it is not 
hard to believe, as one has already said, that 
he would have wished no other or greater 
honor than to die in harness and pass in a 
moment from the field of battle to the feet 
of his Lord. 

"None of us who knew him well could fail 
to note the dramatic touch in all ou~ broth- 
er's life and ministry. Converted in a mo- 
ment from a life of sin as by a bolt from 
heaven while his saintly father was spend- 
ing the night in prayer for his erring son. 
his whole life and ministry were passed on 
an unusual and always supernatural plane. 



160 " The Little Man from Chicago M 

Probably he never gave an address in his 
life without startling at some period in his 
message the most passive of his hearers with 
a shout that was sufficient to wake the dead. 
He was always expecting God to do great 
and mighty things. After his own salvation 
and healing through the mighty power of 
God, nothing seemed impossible to his 
faith. He had a passion for souls. Every 
service which he conducted had as its goal 
the getting of somebody from sin to Christ. 
One of his latest appointments, from which 
he came directly to this convention, was in 
the city of Durham, N. C., and he wrote in 
glowing words of the triumphs of God's 
grace in the salvation of the crowds of 
young people which came from night to 
night to hear and believe. And every few 
sentences were interspersed with notes of 
exclamation and punctuation not found in 
the text books. His reports of his campaigns 
read like the bulletins of a conquering gen- 
eral sweeping over victorious battle fields. 
He seldom paused even to put in the verbs, 
but dashed ofif a series of triumphant ejacu- 
lations and field notes that looked like a plan 
of battle. No service was too arduous for 
him if anybody needed to be helped. While 



Memorial Services 161 

in charge of our work in the City of Chica- 
go he was constantly on foot visiting the 
sick and suffering in every part of that wide 
and scattered city, and ready at any hour of 
the day and night for the call of duty. His 
last night on earth, while attending the con- 
vention here, was largely spent in minister- 
ing at the bedside of a suffering saint and 
praying her through. He was a real sol- 
dier of Christ, intensely loyal to his colors 
and his cause, and prompt in obedience to 
the orders of his Commander. The last 
morning of his life he spent three-quarters 
of an hour with the writer asking and re- 
ceiving instructions for the extended cam- 
paign on which he was just starting out for 
the next seven or eight months in the State 
of New York and the Northwest. He was 
always waiting for orders and ready implic- 
itly to follow them. No word of criticism 
or complaint ever passed his lips. If there 
were trials, hardships, self-denials, only the 
Master heard the story. With his devoted 
wife, who was in the fullest sense that the 
words could mean his helpmate, he has trav- 
elled in the service of the Alliance over ev- 
ery portion of the United States and Cana- 



1 62 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

da and everywhere his memory is blessed 
and his fruit remains. 

"The last scene in his dramatic life is al- 
ready familiar to us. About to depart on the 
morrow for a long campaign of more than 
half a year, he had gone out in front of the 
Gospel Tabernacle to take part in the street 
service which always precedes the evening 
meeting, and to give what proved to be his 
last message on earth to the people he loved. 
He had supplied the pulpit of the Gospel 
Tabernacle for two summers, and was re- 
garded by them as almost one of their pas- 
tors. With unusual unction and power he 
appealed to the crowd before him and 
preached unto them repentance toward God 
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. He 
had scarcely finished when he was seen to 
fall forward on the pavement. He was 
quickly carried into the Alliance House and 
two physicians sent for : but in a few mo- 
ments, and even before they arrived, his 
spirit had passed to be with Christ, and his 
beloved wife and the great congregation that 
was gathering in the Tabernacle were reel- 
ing from the awful shock of this sudden 
blow. It seemed indeed like the sudden 
passing of a chariot of fire. 



Memorial Services 163 

"One moment here, 

The next beyond the stars." 

"No language can express our sense of 
loss in the passing of our beloved Brother 
Meminger. His spirit will always shine in 
our memory and affection and in glorious 
light side by side with John Cookman, 
David Lelacheur and Henry Wilson, the 
most gifted and lamented of the honor roll 
of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. 
His beloved wife has had a great share in 
the blessing of his fruitful life. In modest 
5ilence and womanly love and loyalty she 
has suffered and labored by his side and been 
the inspiration of his noblest achievements. 
Hbw tenderly and quaintly he talked of 'the 
little woman from Chicago/ and how our 
hearts go out to her in this unspeakable trial 
in deepest tenderness, sympathy, love and 
prayer, and how we thank God for the 
abundant grace that is not only sustaining 
her but making her 'more than conqueror 
through Him that loved her/ 

" 'He saw him no more. And he cried, 
Where is the Lord God of Elijah?' His mas- 
ter would never again return, but his God 
was still the all-sufficient Jehovah. Our 
brother has left us. How unspeakably we 



1 64 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

feel the loss ! How ill we can spare him 
from our depleted ranks and our straggling 
skirmishers along the firing line! But his 
God is still our heritage, and He who gave 
us Cookman, Lelacheur, Wilson and Mem- 
inger is still able to supply our need, to re- 
cruit our ranks and to prove as He has so 
often proved to us before that it is 'not by 
might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith 
the Lord of Hosts.' Let us not be discour- 
aged, but take up his mantle, claim the pow- 
er and the promises of his God, and go forth 
to finish his work and ours." 

Rev. and M<rs. F. H. Senft sang the hymn 
well known among Alliance friends, "I've 
Yielded to God and I'm Saved Every Hour," 
Mr. Senft telling how several years ago 
when Mr. and Mrs. Meminger were out 
West in the work they received word by tel- 
egraph of the sudden death of their son. 
They continued their work, not leaving it to 
attend the funeral, but God gave them vic- 
tory and they sang together this beautiful 
hymn. 

Mr. Senft then related how seventeen 
years ago, when he, M,r. Senft, had just be- 
gun work on full Gospel lines in the city of 



Memorial Services 165 

Altoona, the friends in Tyrone, fourteen 
miles east, would come up to the special all- 
day meetings, Mr. Meminger among them, 
and his father-in-law, the Rev. (John D. 
Stewart. These friends from Tyrone were 
compelled to wait after the night services 
for the midnight train, and they held some 
remarkable after meetings of great spiritual 
power. "How I can see," said Mr. Senft, 
"that little company yet as we lingered at 
the feet of Jesus there in that after meeting, 
where victories were won. A little later af- 
ter attending some of these meetings, our 
dear brother came up to Altoona and had a 
season of prayer for divine direction. If I 
were at home he would take it of the Lord 
that he was to have a season of prayer and 
an interview with us. When he got off the 
train I was there at the station for some 
purpose, and in a few moments we were 
at home, and there in that upper room he 
unburdened his heart and we waited at the 
feet of Jesus for a while. I had known pre- 
viously that he had broken down some few 
years before after a remarkable ministry in 
evangelistic work in many places, during 
which hundreds of souls had been saved, 
with a serious affection of the throat, and 



166 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

had been compelled to give up preaching and 
go into secular business though he remained 
an active worker in the church where he 
lived. As we knelt and waited upon God 
and as the oil was poured upon him the 
Lord filled the room and the little company 
and healed him, and sent him forth as a flam- 
ing torch. I thank God for this little fellow- 
ship with him and have followed him with 
praise to God all these years as he has been 
with us, one of us in a true sense, as a broth- 
er said only a few days before his death, 
'through and through an Alliance man, im- 
bued with the truth and the spirit that God 
has given to us as a mighty trust in these 
last days/ Let us be faithful to all that our 
God has for us and pray that the ranks may 
be filled and the work go on for Hjis glory." 
Rev. W. T. MacArthur, who succeeded 
Mr. Meminger in the Alliance work in Chi- 
cago, and who had come into very close 
touch with him as Mir. Meminger continued 
to make his home there, next spoke. He 
said, "I have to confess to selfishness when 
I heard of his death — I could not understand 
it. I dreaded to meet Mrs. Meminger, 
knowing how attached they were to each 
other — they were inseparable. I thought 



Memorial Services 167 

perhaps it would kill her, but I lost sight 
of that when I heard her singing: 

" 'Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, 
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine/ 

"And I thought, she is all right; the Com- 
forter has come to her. But what about 
our poor work ! Each one of us doing more 
than one man's work, and it seems as though 
it could not be possible that we had lost 
one, especially as I noticed in him and re- 
marked to one of our superintendents a few 
days ago what wonderful strides he seemed 
to have made in the spiritual life. Well, God 
is able to raise up a successor, another 
worker or workers that will accomplish the 
work. It may be there isn't so very much 
more for us to do. It may be that Jesus is 
just coming. ,, 

Mr. Meminger had been for several cam- 
paigns with Rev. R. A. Forrest, Superinten- 
dent of the Southern Alliance work, and he 
was next to speak. "We have had the pleas- 
ure of having had Mr. and Mrs. Mteminger 
with us in the South for a number of cam- 
paigns. Last year they were with us for 
five months consecutively without any 



1 68 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

break. We were together every day. Since 
then we have had him with us for two or 
three shorter tours and just recently down 
in Atlanta and then Durham, N. C, where 
we have a Fourfold Gospel Tabernacle. Mr. 
Johnson, pastor of this Gospel Tabernacle, 
has written me twice about these meetings, 
and said that it seemed to him as if there 
was an aurora of glory around his whole 
person as he spoke, and the power of God 
fell upon the people as never before. Many 
souls were saved, many Christians definitely 
received the Holy Ghost, and the work in 
Durham has doubled through Mr. Memin- 
ger's ministry. 

"I want to give a personal testimony. I 
have never met a man who was more thor- 
oughly God's man, or an Alliance worker 
more thoroughly an Alliance worker. There 
wasn't a flaw in his fellowship or service. 
In all those months of campaigning we nev- 
er asked him to take a service but what he 
nodded his head in his characteristic way 
and said, 'Vlery well/ On the other hand 
if we asked him to give up a service he 
would give the same characteristic nod 
and say, 'Very well.' I counted it a great 
privilege to have known him. I am a better 



Memorial Services 169 

man to-day because I have been with him. 
Since the Lord called him home there has 
been a cry in my heart day and night that 
God will help us to be as faithful to God as 
he has been for the work's sake and for His 
sake." 

The service closed with the hymn, 
"Asleep in Jesus, blessed sleep." The re- 
mains were then taken to Tyrone, Pa., 
\vhere a service was held on Saturday, 
where the funeral service and interment 
to©k place. 

The funeral services were held in Tyrone, 
Saturday afternoon at 2 P.M'. 

After a song from the choir Dr. Stein, of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, read Exo- 
dus v. The Rev. Mr. Gunter, of the Presby- 
terian Church, followed by prayer. 

Rev. E. D. Whiteside, of Pittsburg, then 
spoke, using for his text the last clause of 
I. Chronicles iv. 23, "There they dwelt with 
the king for his work." 

First, he spoke of the dignity of the work 
for the King. For what purpose are we 
here? Why are we in Tyrone? Not to hon- 
or man, but to honor the King. We want to 
honor Him by our lives and by our testi- 



lyo " The Little Man from Chicago " 

mony, witnessing to the world the great- 
ness of our King, and to the fact that He is 
soon to return. 

Second, fellowship with the King in His 
business. The King has called us to co- 
operate with Him in the great work of evan- 
gelizing the world and to witness to the heal- 
ing power of God. The Holy Spirit has been 
sent to quicken us and to equip us for the 
great work of the King. 

Third, the workman trained by the King 
Himself. The Holy Spirit is the great 
Teacher, and He sends us up and down the 
land as living witnesses. He said, "I have 
known our Brother Meminger for several 
years, having first met him in Tyrone, and 
our fellowship has been very precious, as he 
has been with us at various times in our con- 
ventions and meetings in Pittsburg." Mr. 
Whiteside then spoke of his striking person- 
ality, his unique methods, and his holy zeal, 
and of his untiring services and busy career 
of the later year : going across and up and 
down the continent as a flaming evangel in 
every direction, in the work of the King to 
whom he was so loyal. He also spoke of 
Mr. Meminger's last hours in New York 
City at the street meeting, and very tender- 



Memorial Services 171 

ly rehearsed the manner in which he laid 
down his life so suddenly at the feet of 
Jesus, and also made mention of the salva- 
tion of the man in the very spot where Mr. 
Meminger had fallen, as a response of the 
Holy Spirit to the last pregnant cry of our 
brother's lips, "My heart is breaking for 
souls/' uttered just before he fell to the 
ground. 

A strong personal appeal was given to all 
present in closing, and Mr. Whiteside was 
followed by Mr. George L. Glunt, also of 
Pittsburg, who said in part: 

" 'Thanks be unto God who giveth us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.' 

"Victory in life and victory in death. Sud- 
den death bringing sudden glory. 

"The occasion which brings us here at 
this time would plunge us into the deepest 
gloom and despair if it were not for the fact 
of the glorious hope of the resurrection from 
the dead and eternal life through our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

"Blessed (happy) are the dead which die 
in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith 
the Spirit, that they may rest from their la- 
bors; and their work do follow them. 



172 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

"I thank God for the lives of such men as 
our departed Brother Meminger. He was 
one of my good friends, and my home in 
Pittsburg was one of the many homes which 
the Lord gave to him. 

"On a recent visit, after coming in tired 
from a long trip, and having discussed var- 
ious phases of the Lord's work, we knelt in 
prayer and this was a time long to be re- 
membered, and we have frequently spoken 
of it as a time of refreshing from the pres- 
ence of the Lord. Brother Meminger, as 
he prayed, laughed and wept, and the glory 
of the Lord filled the room, and His pres- 
ence was never more real than at that mid- 
night hour. 

"He gave me priceless advice concerning 
the work, and things pertaining to the king- 
dom. God has since called me to be an 
evangelist and we cannot tell how much has 
been due to Brother Meminger' s prayer and 
brotherly counsel. 

"I somehow associate his last message to 
the great crowd of workingmen in New 
York City, with the great message of our 
Lord Jesus that day at Capernaum, when 
He addressed the great crowd of poor, sick, 
blind and lame, crying to them in their mis- 



Memorial Services 173 

ery, sin and discouragements: 'Come unto 
Me.' 

"Brother Meminger went through the 
States in churches and tents and on the 
streets of the cities, calling men to 'flee from 
the wrath to come/ 

"His life has been a great inspiration to 
me ; and were I to choose my departure 
from this world I could not desire anything 
more grand than to leave as he did. 

"What lesson are we to learn from the 
circumstances which surrottnd us to-day? 
May God by His Spirit speak to all of our 
hearts regardless of our place or position in 
the world, and may there come a great fu- 
ture out of this providence. May the un- 
saved hear the voice of Jesus, saying, 'Come 
unto Me.' 

"May the business man arise from the 
spirit of materialism to a place of victory, 
and may those who sorrow find a closer fel- 
lowship with the Comforter who can be a 
husband to the widow and a father to the 
fatherless/' 

After the choir sang "Some Day We'll 
Understand*" the service closed by prayer 
from the former pastor, Rev. Mr. Warren. 



Chapter XVII. 
TRIBUTES. 

WE have received a volume of testi- 
monies to the life and character of 
our brother, many of great length. 
We feel it would seem like gilding the re- 
fined gold to add words of eulogy to the 
picture which has already spoken for it- 
self in the preceding pages. We cannot re- 
frain, however, from extracting a few lines 
from this multitude of tributes which we feel 
would unduly exceed the size of the volume. 
Among others Rev. J. D. Williams, Secretary 
of the Board of the Christian and Missionary 
Alliance writes: 

"It was the privilege of the writer to know 
Brother Meminger for about fourteen 
years, and during all that time he spent 
his life unselfishly in active service 
for the Master. How often his voice has 
been heard in Conventions of the Chris- 
tian and Missionary Alliance and in other 
religious gatherings and scores of souls 
have been saved and filled with the Spirit un- 
der his faithful preaching and teaching. He 
was one of God's true Ministers who fear- 
lessly declared the truth without partiality, 




MRS. WILBUR r. M KM I NGER. 






Tributes 175 

and in the fear of the Lord. He was aggress- 
ive in spirit, always pressing onward to high- 
er ground." 

Rev. H. L. Stevens, superintendent of the 
Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, 
writes : 

"The shock to my heart when the news of 
dear Brother Meminger's home going reached 
me was only relieved by the assurance that 
sudden death to him meant sudden glory. 

"I can't forget our trip together through the 
great Northwest a little over two years ago. 

"Throughout all that long journey the thing 
that impressed me most was not only his faith- 
fulness in prayer and preaching of the Word, 
but especially the beautiful spirit of willing- 
ness and humility, in ministering to the small- 
est companies of people as well as the larger 
audiences, and the earnest way in which he 
entered into every service. Not once did I 
hear him complain. 

"The last time we were together was at the 
Summer Convention in Toronto in 1909 and 
my last view of him is indelibly impressed on 
my memory as he poured out his soul to God 
for the people in his closing prayer while the 
tears rained down his face. We little thought 
that we should not see him again." 



176 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

Rev. George P. Pardington, Ph.D., of the 
Nyack Institute, writes : 

"In personal appearance he united strength, 
gracefulness and attractiveness. He had a 
winsome smile and a real charm of manner. 

"As a preacher and platform speaker Mr. 
Meminger was unique. Both in material and 
in delivery his sermons and addresses were 
peculiar to himself. His object was the 
salvation of the sinners and the edfication of 
believers — in a word, getting men and women 
to the point of moral decision. To him this 
need was greater than any mission. His il- 
lustrations were often homely but always tell- 
ing. 

"In his interests and sympathies Mr. Mem- 
inger was democratic, his hand clasp was 
hearty, his smile winsome and his greeting 
cheery. There was, in fact, the ring of sin- 
cerity about the whole man." 

Rev. A. E. Funk, Secretary of the Chris- 
tian asd Missionary Alliance, was abroad at 
the time of Mr. Meminger's departure, and 
he writes: 
"Dear Mrs. Meminger: — 

"The sad news of Brother Meminger's sud- 
den departure which reached me at Port Said, 
Egypt, on my missionary journey was a great 



Tributes 177 

shock and had a very solemnizing effect on my 
spirit. I felt as if another pillar of the Alli- 
ance had been taken and it would be difficult 
to find one like him to put into the vacant 
place. I felt a loving and praying friend had 
been taken from my side. He always mani- 
fested a deep interest in the missionaries and 
he loved them all. His abundant prayers for 
them were always intense and full of faith. 
He was a lover of the truth, a defender of the 
Word and the Faith 'once for all delivered to 
the saints.' A true preacher of the true Gos- 
pel, a lover of souls and a strenuous worker 
in God's vineyard. He will ever remain dear 
in the memory of those who knew him. His 
works do follow him. Blessed is he with the 
Lord and at His glorious appearing he will 
appear with Him in glory. God be with you 
in comfort and upholding." 

A. E. Funk. 

"It was given to me to accompany from time 
to time prominent Alliance leaders and work- 
ers, as also returned missionaries, on the Pa- 
cific Coast section of their tours. It was thus 
that I came in contact with them personally 
and under peculiar opportunity of observa- 
tion such as served to reveal their real char- 



178 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

acteristics. I had much of this opportunity to 
see the real off-guard man Meminger. I may 
say emphatically that I never knew a man to 
wear better than Brother Meminger. He 
never was off guard, for he never was on 
guard, i. e. in any studied, artificial, occa- 
sional sense. Yet in the true Scriptural sense 
he was always on guard. Under all the vary- 
ing circumstances of itinerant work I never 
knew any 'shadow of turning' in him. He 
never turned tourist, but was as one sent on 
a business which knew no intermission. He 
was 'instant in season, out of season/ He 
seemed to maintain consciously the presence 
and communion of Jesus. The Saviour 
seemed incessantly precious and dear to him. 
While free from all eagerness and feverish- 
ness, yet he was instantly and fully ready for 
the word or deed needed, whether in public 
or in private. He was the perfect gentleman 
at all times, toward all classes, in his disposi- 
tion and demeanor, and even in his dress. 

"He never had a complaint or fault to find. 
He never was guilty of back-biting or reflec- 
tions upon others. He was inexhaustibly 
charitable. He saw so much to enjoy and 
commend in others, in individuals, in compa- 
nies, in the meetings. 



Tributes 179 

"He never wearied of well-doing and never 
let any know that he experienced weariness 
in his labors, although he must have often 
been greatly worn. He never evaded an op- 
portunity and he left one feeling that day by 
day every new step saw the duty of the pre- 
vious step fully performed. 

"The supreme test was when the news met 
him and his wife that their son Charles had 
met with instant death. This did not cause a 
halt, a murmur, or a weakness. It was an 
added power in praise prayer and preaching. 

"Could he plead his favorite theme of sal- 
vation for all the family, how earnestly and 
effectively he labored to make family circles 
complete in the Lord Jesus! I doubt not, 
many a poor wanderer, many a child, many a 
young man or woman, many a parent, many 
a husband or wife, yea, many a whole family, 
will rise up in the everlasting kingdom to 
crown Mr. Meminger with grateful acknow- 
ledgements. And the Lord Jesus will say, 
'Well done, Thou good and faithful servant/ ' 

"W. C. Stevens," 
"Principal Missionary Institute, 

Nyack, N. Y." 

"Mr. Meminger was an inspiration to me, 



180 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

in his life and unselfish ministry to others. In 
his teaching on divine healing he was most 
helpful. We often worked together in the 
convention after meetings, at Nyack and Old 
Orchard, and I always felt that he was a man 
of God and greatly beloved by the people. 
Our dear brother had his own quaint, original 
and forcible way of presenting the truth in the 
power of the Holy Spirit, which I believe bore 
much fruit in the lives of others." 

"Miss Lindenberger." 

"My dear Friend : — 

"In reply to yours of March 30th, it affords 
me a sad pleasure to write a word or two in 
memory of our dear brother Meminger, who 
has been called to be with his Lord. 

"I knew him for years, and saw him in the 
work he loved so dearly in Boston, New York, 
Chicago, and other places. It was in this 
city, however, that we more frequently met, 
and where for a while he led a class-meeting 
on Saturday mornings in the Moody Church, 
and conducted the gatherings of the Christian 
Alliance in Willard Hall. 

"His Christianity was of the joyously ener- 
getic type of our Methodist brethren, and un- 
der his leadership a meeting could not go to 



Tributes 181 

sleep. He was an evangelist to the tips of his 
fingers, and knew how to get people "started" 
as they say, about as well as any one I recall 
in comparison with him. 

"He was particularly earnest in public pray- 
er, and seemed to know God as his Father 
through Jesus Christ as Christians generally 
do not. 

"His cheery manner, and smiling face and 
hopeful utterances were a great benediction 
where he went, and for which all who remem- 
ber him have cause for sincerest gratitude 
and praise. 

"With cordial and sympathetic remem- 
brances, I am 

"Faithfully yours, 
"James M. Gray." 

"We are glad to be permitted to contribute 
a few words of testimony to our beloved 
friend and brother, Rev. W. F. Meminger. 

"We praise God, that during our recent fur- 
lough in America we had the inestimable 
privilege of attending several conventions in 
company with him, and also remember with 
much pleasure the happy hours we spent in 
religious and social communication as we 
travelled from place to place. 



1 82 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

"He was indeed a blessing to us, and the 
missionaries had no better friend in the home- 
land than our dear brother. How we enjoy- 
ed his fervent messages, so full of the Gospel, 
interspersed now and then with a loud sing- 
ing hallelujah which would cause one's faith 
to mount up several degrees higher. If the 
messages of the "Little Man from Chicago/' 
as he loved to call himself, were fervent, 
much more were his prayers. Many times 
at an altar service when others seemed to 
have prayed out, he would pour out his soul 
in such unction that alf would be blessed. 

"His desire for souls and extension of the 
Kingdom of God is well summed up in a 
phrase which he was fond of using, viz. : 'A 
keener blade and a wider swath in the harvest 
field/ Thank God for such a life as that of 
Bro. Meminger, and may we all who are still 
in the whitened fields follow him as he fol- 
lowed Christ. " 

"Mr. & Mrs. Wilmoth A. Farmer, 
Fin Cheo Fu, Kwang Si, South China." 

"Some years ago it was my privilege to 
move to the Pacific Northwest, and locate 
in Everett, Washington. It was my desire for 
some time to have our dear Brother and Sis- 



Tributes 183 

ter Meminger visit our district, and especially 
our city. This privilege was granted and last 
April he and his beloved wife came and held 
conventions along the Coast and were with us 
both here and at Mukilteo. At that time we 
were starting the new Tabernacle and the cor- 
nerstone was laid by our brother. 

"On the Sunday afternoon we all marched 
up the street to the lot singing, 

We're marching to Zion/ 

and after prayer and song and a few appropri- 
ate remarks, the stone was put in place by our 
Brother's hands. " 

"Mrs. A. C. York." 

"Dear Sister Meminger:— 

"It is with pleasure that I pause to write a 
few words of appreciation for your book ; and 
as I do so, loving memories of my past asso- 
ciations with our dear Brother Meminger 
come vividly and pleasantly to me. 

"Our first acquaintance was at a convention 
of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, held 
in the Moody Church in Chicago. I was chair- 
man of the local board, hence it devolved upon 
me to introduce him, not only to the conven- 
tion, but to the local members of the Alliance 
that he had come to serve, which brought me 






1 84 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

into a close, and intimate relationship with him 
from the start, while his genial, pleasant, and 
agreeable manner won his way into the hearts 
of all. 

"As a Christian minister he was successful; 
His evident close and intimate relationship 
with the Holy Spirit gave him unusual power 
in prayer. While praying for those seeking 
salvation, or for the sick, he reached the throne 
by a well trodden path, and God loved to an- 
swer his prayer of faith. 

"Brother Meminger was always considerate, 
kind and pleasant. I never knew him to en- 
gage in gossip or talk that would reflect un- 
kindly on anybody. He was always a wel- 
come guest at my home, appreciated both by 
myself and my wife, who is now in glory with 
him. 

"I loved him as a brother, and indeed he 
was a dear brother in Christ. 

"He was an honest, true and faithful friend, 
a conscientious, noble living example as a 
Christian, in the truest sense. 

"R. H. Trumbull." 

"People talk of two kinds of Christians, 
viz., long-faced and round-faced ones, Mr. 
Meminger belonged to the latter. He was 



Tributes 185 

always bubbling ever with the joy of the 
Lord. 

"All who have read his spicy reports in the 
Alliance paper will remember how God's side, 
the bright side, the shining side was brought 
out. Although the cares of many, and the 
trials of the different branches were poured 
into his ears, he always had the right word of 
comfort, and with those in trouble called upon 
Him who alone knows all about our struggles. 

"He was too young at the time of the civil 
war to enlist, but he had a military turn of 
mind. 

"His writings and messages were alive 
with the truth, that the Captain of his salva- 
tion never lost a battle. 

"Oh that more of us would lift up, and look 
up knowing that He is our victor, and con- 
quering One!" "Rev. J. C. Baker." 

"It gives me great pleasure to add my little 
quota to the words of love and tenderness 
concerning our dear departed friend and 
brother, the Rev. Wilbur F. Meminger. 
While pastor in Chicago I knew him well and 
appreciated him. On several occasions I had 
him in my pulpit and he conducted one series 
of special meetings for me. He was often in 



1 86 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

my home, and his bright and cheerful presence 
was always refreshing. 

"First. And now, first of all, let me say 
that Mr. Meminger was a gentleman. What- 
ever else he may have been, he was a gentle- 
man. 

"Second. He was a Christian. 

"He loved his Lord and he was whole- 
hearted in it. To him the wonder was that 
everybody did not seek to be a Christian. And 
his one consuming passion was that of making 
Christians. 

"Third. He knew the art — fine art — di- 
vine art of prayer. Once having heard him 
pray you could never forget it. He prayed as 
one who knew God. He expected answers 
from heaven and he received them. 

"Fourth. He loved the lost. He was once 
himself lost and he never forgot the horrors 
of it. He looked upon lost men as more or 
less given over to the service of the evil one, 
and it was easy for him to see what invalu- 
able service they might be rendering the Lord 
Jesus if only they were truly saved. 

"Fifth. He was ready to meet his Lord. 

" 'Happy the man that so orders his life, 
and so lives, that God can thus instantly speak 



Tributes 187 

the word only, and summon his servant with 
perfect safety into His holy presence !' ' 

"Rev. Milton M. Bales, D.D." 

"To say that our beloved brother has died, 
or that he has fallen asleep, does not fitly de- 
scribe the manner of his departure. He was 
taken from us: Less to corporal change, 
nothing could have been more rapid or nearer 
to translation, when in a twinkling of an eye 
we shall be changed. We feel drawn nearer 
to his bereaved wife in her present sorrow by 
reason of the fiery trial and overwhelming 
affliction through which they were passing on 
their first visit, and our first acquaintance with 
them at Riverside, California. 

"It was then that faith and fortitude shone 
forth in the crucible of their sorrow and im- 
pressed indelibly on our hearts that there were 
two who indeed knew their God. 

"Who could have discerned under the calm 
exterior of this Field-marshal of the Lord and 
the Alliance, for the first time before our 
small unemotional company that then formed 
the Riverside Branch Meeting that afternoon 
in the First Baptist Church, that there beat a 
heart bowed down with the weight of sorrow 
and torn by the news of a great and sudden ca- 



1 88 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

lamity, which had overtaken them while in the 
North of the State by a brief, cruel telegraphic 
sentence, announcing the disaster and death of 
their sturdy, promising youngest son, cut off in 
the bud of his manhood while railroading on 
one of the transcontinental lines. 

"What a testimony! These two noble ser- 
vants of God ! He, with an indomitable ener- 
gy and unquenchable seal; she, with her in- 
tense love and desire to serve, had together 
braved some perilous travel amidst the mid- 
winter storms of the Rockies; — he, with his 
dynamic utterances and startling climaxes ; 
she, with her modest book counter, recom- 
mending the Gospel in word and writ. 

"Heaven will have chronicled the heroism 
of that day, when for the first time since the 
staggering blow, their fonvarded mail brought 
the heart-breaking details. They read and 
wept together. But they stood before that 
waiting company, unconscious of the facts 
with the glow of Heaven's grace upon His face 
and the dominant note of victory in his 
message. 

"He related how they had been snowbound, 
suffering by reason of long delays and narrow 
and thrilling escapes from accidents. But like 
one marching in the ranks of an advancing 



Tributes 189 

host they had passed through, and amidst 
cloud and smoke of a terrific and almost mor- 
tal combat appeared that beautiful afternoon 
and night in fragrant Riverside, the orange 
garden of California, lifting the standard on 
high in their testimony of praise to super- 
natural victory and the reality of a full Gos- 
pel, revealed indeed on Calvary's shadow 
and resurrection triumph, especially as the ex- 
perience of our dear Brother and Sister be- 
came fully apprehended. 

"His personality and ministry suggested the 
sure combination of Elijah and Elisha, an 
evangelist of the Gospel of Grace, but an un- 
compromising prophet of judgment, whose 
presence and message seem to be consonant 
with the fire, the whirlwind, the earthquake 
and the cataclysms that herald the Lord's com- 
ing and the knell of dawn. In the light of his 
life and ministry, the world of his thought 
and the strenuousness of his labors, this sud- 
den call is a consistent and glorious departure. 
"Gerard A. Bailley." 

"We had the privilege of Brother and Sis- 
ter Meminger's presence in our home in West 
Pittston, Pa., for a week. Here we enjoyed 
the sweet fellowship and beauty of their lives. 



190 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

We caught a glimpse of the self-sacrifice of 
these two dear ones. They had just returned 
from a campaign in Western Canada, Calgary 
and Winnipeg, fraught with much suffering, 
being blockaded by snow for a few days. But 
in spite of all the privations and hardships 
consequent with the life of an evangelist, he 
kept pressing on. This was the prominent and 
predominant spirit in Brother Meminger, to 
spend and be spent for the Master. 

"We can only say, 'How have the mighty 
fallen !' We had begun in speculation to count 
the days until Mother and Father Meminger 
would be with us, when one day the news was 
brought to us that he had gone to his reward. 
Sister Stone and I were just sitting down to 
our dinner. Needless to say that the meal re- 
mained untouched. We bowed our heads and 
wept and wept in the agony of our spirits as 
we realized our loss, and then the Holy Spirit 
reminded us of one who was suffering far 
keener than we were or could, and then we 
bowed in prayer for her who was left. 

"Such unselfishness and complete abandon- 
ment of selfish desires and motives could not 
but inspire the hearts of his hearers, and could 
only bring down the blessing and benediction 
of Almighty God upon himself. Like the 



Tributes 191 

ripened wheat bending its head and waiting 
for the scythe, so this humble head was bowed 
and went home in the very manner he wished, 
— dying in active service, like the brave sol- 
dier he was." 

"O. J. Stone." 

"At a special meeting of the pastors and officers 
of the Gospel Tabernacle, New York City, on Tues- 
day, October 19, 1909, the following resolution was 
unanimously and sympathetically passed : 

"We, the pastors and officers of the Gospel Taber- 
nacle Church, do place on record our most hearty 
and appreciative recognition of the life and labor of 
our beloved brother, 

W. F. MEMINGER, 

who fell asleep in Jesus, suddenly, on Wednesday, 
October 6th, 1909. We praise God for the un- 
swerving faith, the ardent love, the concentrated zeal, 
the consecrated life, the singleness of purpose, the 
evangelical fervor, the love of men, the regard for 
God's truth, and the aim at God's glory, which ever 
characterized our friend. He sleeps, but the aroma 
of his unique and useful life will influence all who 
knew him for many a day. 

"We most affectionately commend to the God of 
all comfort, our sister, Mrs. Meminger, and pray 
that she may be cheered by the remembrance that 
her loved one is with Christ; that Christ is with 
her, and that when the shadows have fled away and 



192 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

the morning of Christ's glad return is here she will 
then see her absent one again." 

Signed on behalf of the meeting. 

A. B. Simpson, Senior Pastor. 

F. E. Marsh, Acting Pastor. 

Geo. H. A. McClare, Church Clerk. 

The following Resolution was passed by 
the Board of the Christian and Missionary 
Alliance: 

"In the circumstances of the departure on Oc- 
tober 6th, of our deeply loved and highly honored 
brother, Wilbur F. Meminger, we recognize signally 
the adorable pleasure of our all-wise and gracious 
Lord. In the prime of life, in unquestioned health, 
with his best service just finished, and immediately 
after pouring out his very heart blood in appeal to 
the throng upon one of New York's highways, he 
was caught up as suddenly as Elijah, and no one 
had opportunity to hinder heaven's behest by one 
word of entreaty that our brother be spared to us 
longer. It would be very rash to lament and to de- 
plore this event, even our own seeming irreparable 
loss cannot have been overlooked by the Lord of the 
harvest. Seldom are God's children invited so per- 
suasively to 'sorrow not.' 

"While our brother was most unaffected yet he 
presented strong characteristics. While unconsci- 
ously modest, he was never abashed or hesitating. 
He never required consideration, but was at rest 
under any conditions. He seemed always in per- 
fect readiness, yet with no uneasy eagerness. His 



Tributes 193 

repose was complete, his action all alive. He knew 
how to be silent, and he opened his mouth only 
with profitable utterance. Without mannerism, his 
manners were charming. 

"The real secret of his life as we knew him, was, 
that he was in Christ and Christ in him. Truly 
Christ Jesus was his passion, his all. Hence, what- 
ever he did, he did with his might, with love unto 
Christ. 

"In every relation, capacity or effort, he was 
undivided, it was, 'as much as in me is/ In preach- 
ing, he was every fiber a preacher. In private, he 
was just as much about his Masters business seek- 
ing souls. As husband, he loved his wife even as 
Christ loves the Church, even as his own body. As 
father, friend, counsellor, in business or in the closet, 
by day or by night, in season, out of season, the 
motive was, 'Jesus Only/ the action was 'All for 
Jesus/ He counted not himself his own, but the 
Lord's and anybody's, anything, by the will of the 
Lord. Like his outward attire, he was always in 
perfect trim. His readiness was instant, his depar- 
ture was instant, his Glory was instant. Blessed be 
the name of the Lord! 

"In expressible sympathy we sorrow with the 
devoted wife in her widowhood. We venture to 
claim some share in her love and honor for the de- 
parted one. But above all, we rejoice in the mar- 
velous grace which enables her to offer her widow- 
hood as her choicest vessel to the praise and glory 



194 " The Little Man from Chicago n 

of God, and as her highest gift of usefulness to 

other in Jesus' name." 

"Commi: 

Wm. C. Ste\x.\ 
David Cbeab, 
A. B. Simpson, 
F. H. Szsvr." 



Chapter XVIII. 
WILBUR MEMINGER'S TRAITS. 

AS an illustration of some of the pecu- 
liarities, originalities and traits re- 
ferred to in the above letters we add 
a few of the announcements which Mr. 
Meminger sometimes used to attract the 
people to his service. These notices speak 
for themselves. 

AKRON, OHIO 

MANY MORE SINNERS WANTED 

AT 221 EAST EXCHANGE ST., 

This Evening 7.30; Sunday, 10.30 and 7 P.M. 
Many sinners came to the meetings last Sun- 
day, and many more are wanted to-night and 
to-morrow to come to hear about Jesus. 

ALL KINDS OF SINNERS ARE 
WELCOME. 

Democrat sinners ; Aristocratic sinners ; 
Prohibition sinners and Republican sinners; 
Official sinners and Private sinners; Lawyer 
sinners and Doctor sinners ; Editor sinners and 
Reporter sinners ; Traveling Men sinners ; Ho- 
tel Keeper sinners and Saloon Keeper sinners ; 
Drunken sinners and Sober sinners; Catholic 
sinners and Protestant sinners ; Christian Al- 
liance sinners and Evangelical Alliance sin- 



196 " The Little Man from Chicago n 

ners; Universalist sinners and Specialist sin- 
ners; Infidel sinners; High-toned sinners and 
No-account sinners ; Secret society sinners and 
Open society sinners; White necktied sinners 
and Hickory shirt sinners; Grocers, who use 
light weights, Dry-Goods merchants, who use 
short yard sticks, and make their clerks lie for 
their benefit, God especially invites, for "A 
false balance is an abomination to the Lord." 

HYPOCRITES WELCOME. 

Also all kinds of Hypocrites, without regard 
to denominational affiliation are welcome. The 
Lord says, "Woe unto you, hypocrites/' but 
He did not reject you. 

God wants us to be impartial. If any sinner 
has been omitted, hand in your name and we 
will invite you next time we go to press. 

"Come now, and let us reason together," 
saith the Lord, "Though your sins be as scar- 
let, they shall be as white as snow, and though 
they be red as crimson, they shall be like 
wool." 

God has sent W. F. Meminger, from Chi- 
cago, to tell you about Jesus. He knows Him 
well. 

P.S. God is not paying for these Ads. with 
the proceeds of ping-pong socials, or rummage 



Wilbur Meminger's Traits 197 

sales, or fish fries, neither does he beg for 
them at half-price. 

(Advertisement of the Christian and Mis- 
sionary Alliance of the Convention.) 

He said, "Whosoever will may come," so 
you come to-night and to-morrow. We 
especially invite newspaper men and printers 
who don't know Jesus as their Saviour. The 
"Printer's devil" is the only kind of a devil 
that can ever get saved. Also the Preachers 
who don't know Jesus, and the Priests, 
especially the preacher in this City who said 
he found it hard to love Jesus sometimes. 
When you get to know Jesus it is easy to love 
Him. It is hard to love somebody you don't 
know. If anybody wants to know Jesus we 
will be pleased to give him an introduction to 
Him to-night and to-morrow. 

THE MAN JESUS CHRIST IS THE 

MOST MANLY AND LOVABLE 

OF MEN. 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND JESUS. 

You don't find Jesus at necktie socials and 
church bazaars. Neither does Jesus attend 
rummage sales. The Master whom we serve 
does not wear second-hand clothes, nor does 
he want his church to deal in them. Our God 



198 " The Little Man from Chicago " 

supplies all our needs. God does not want 
money, our God has plenty. The silver and 
the gold are his. It will cost you nothing to 
come to hear abou: Jesus. Ir will cost you 
nothing to get out, and to get to knc 
will only ; : you your sins. If you are not 
nner but already know Jc E would 

ask you to read our Ad. in to-night's Beacon- 
Journal. "Fishermen Wanted." God needs 
Fishermen as well as sinners. 

THE INVITATION TO ALL. 

The sick and afflicted and the maimed and 
the halt are especially invited to this hall 
zr^ake their sins, and have God's people pray 
for their healing, in body as well as soul, for 
;,me to heal our bodies. The poor and 
the downtrodden, and the oppressed, and 
those who have no friends, and the strangers 
in the city are especially invited to our Fa- 
ther's house. 

FISHERMEN WANTED. 

AT 221 EAST EXCHANGE STREET 

To-night at 7 Sunday 10.30 A.M. & 7. P.M. 
Don't mistake the number, you may get 
into the wrong door. Ther loon on one 

side and a fishmarket on the other. 



Wilbur Meminger's Traits 199 

You are not needed to catch fish; you are 
needed to catch men, for Jesus said, "I will 
make you fishers of men." God wants Gos- 
pel fishermen. God's people invite them, here- 
in, to come and help pull the Gospel net. God 
fishes with a net. 

He does not use white-bait. You cannot 
catch him with ice-cream. 

Our God is a consuming fire, so He cannot 
have any ice cream freezer attachments in his 
business. 

Many sinners came to this hall last Sunday. 
Many more will come to-night and to-morrow. 
If you are saved and know how to point men 
to Jesus Christ, we respectfully ask you to 
help pull the Gospel Net ashore. 

By the Grace of God we are trying to throw 
the net on the right side of the ship. 

God does not bait the fish with roast 
chicken. He wants men to fish for men and 
leave the dressing of the fish to him. 

Jesus twice drove live doves out of the 
temple. God does not like dead squabs in a 
pie any better than in His house to-day. God's 
only bait is the matchless name and matchless 
person of Jesus Christ. 

He said, "If I be lifted up from the earth, 
I will draw all men unto me." 



200 " The Little Man from Chicago M 

GOD SAVES AND HEALS. 

We know that God has saved us and healed 
our bodies, and that Jesus Christ is coming 
again. Every man and woman in Akron who 
believes this, and is sick at playing at serving 
God, is earnestly and prayerfully invited to 
help get men and women to know Jesus. If 
you connot come pray for God's blessing upon 
His work. Pray that He may thrust forth la- 
borers into the harvest. 

No collections will be taken, nor any one 
asked for money. As free as the waters are 
to the fish, so free is this hall to rich and poor, 
sinners and saints, for God supplies all our 
needs according to His riches in Glory by Je- 
sus Christ. 

If you are not a Gospel Fisherman, but an 
uncaught fish, you are invited to read the very 
interesting Ad. in the Akron Democrat, enti- 
tled: "MORE SINNERS WANTED/' It is 
applicable to your case. 

And Jesus said unto Simon: "Fear not; 
from henceforth thou shalt catch fish. And 
when they had brought their ships to land, 
they forsook all and followed Him." 

An old Fisherman, W. F. Meminger, of 
Chicago, will help pull the net. 



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